Day 8: The Blitz

This weekend some of my friends are road tripping up to Canada for the NBA’s All-Star weekend. It is something we all planned to do together months ago, especially with my birthday coming up early next week. Things ended up falling through on my end and I am unable to make the trip. I want to say I am going to regret it, but I also understand that this is a part of life. There is always going to be something we miss out on due to certain circumstances. I think the key is to remember that there will also be many moments you do not miss out on, so you have to make sure to cherish those.

One of my favorite TV shows is How I Met Your Mother. In one of the episodes they reencounter a friend who they refer to as “The Blitz.” The reason for this is because whenever he would leave the room, something crazy or miraculous would happen and he would miss out on it. This is basically how I felt upon realizing I could no longer make the Canada trip. I feel like so many crazy things are going to happen that I will miss out on. Even though I said you have to accept that is a part of life, I cannot help but have the fear of missing out or fomo.

Up until last year I had no idea what fomo was or meant. I mean it is not even a word. Anyway, my grandma turned 90 last year and we had a big party and a lot of family from out of town came to help celebrate. I remember being at my cousin’s place, and all of the cousins were gathered having a great time. My then one-year-old godson was with us and despite looking completely exhausted, he would not go to sleep. A couple of my cousins kept saying it was because he had “fomo” or fear of missing out.

The fact that a one-year-old could fear missing out really astounded me. Maybe it is more logical to say that we were just being too loud, but it did not feel that way. He really acted as if he knew going to sleep would make him “The Blitz.” What that experience taught me is you cannot guess or control when you’ll experience crazy, miraculous, or big events you’ll never forget. There will be times when you have fomo or become “The Blitz.”

Like I said earlier that is a part of life. You just have to continue to remember that life will be filled with an abundance of other moments you will not miss out on. So there is no reason to harp on the times you do because the times you do not will far outnumber them.