It’s New Year’s Eve. I’m 25 years old. And I’m staying in and eating pizza tonight. I realise this sounds a little like an AA intro but I’m going to roll with it anyways. Hi, I’m Emma and I’m opting out of NYE 2018.
I know how sad this sounds. But before you roll out the pity party like my friends, or my family or the guy in the bank I talked to today, you should know: I am experiencing some serious JOMO.
Quite possibly this is because last NYE I was a drunk, weepy train wreck in front of a bunch of people in the pub. But, embarrassing blackouts aside, sometimes us introverts need some time to embrace our quieter sides and just be.
For anyone who doesn’t know, JOMO is FOMO’s (fear of missing out) not-so-evil twin. I love spending time with my friends and family and being around people – I’m a sociable person by nature. But it doesn’t take long for that to literally exhaust me. Like dead on my feet exhausted. This happens at least once a week so I thought, whilst I have some JOMO time on my hands, I might as well document all the ways missing out can be a joyful experience
- Saying no to weekend plans/ nights out/ literally anything else and getting some much needed life admin done.
- Being totally oblivious to all the things other people find exciting on social media because you’ve literally discovered your next favourite book/ TV show/ whatever else you’re into.
- Any time you get to people watch – because what’s better than silently writing out some stranger’s life story for them?
- Spending time with animals instead of people because sometimes they’re just better to talk to and they’re always better to cuddle.
- Having time to go to the gym or meditate or do things that you know you should be doing but you can’t because of plans.
So, the moral of this story is, whilst everyone else is out getting wasted and ringing in 2019, I’m staying in and watching terrible TV and going to bed at exactly 12:01. And I’m literally so happy about it.
Just Emma Things 