My parents weird motivational speech was all about sibling comparison. “Look at your sister. Look at your brother.” But I always refuted it with the same speech: “I’m happy for them, but I’m not them. I have my own way.” I don’t necessarily get jealous, and even if I did, the majority of the time I would only say it in jest. I don’t like comparing myself, and when it comes to my favorite past time, I do it my way too!

I don’t dig lesser-known series because I want to be special. I have so many popular series that I absolutely love (and I already talked about them before). I’m all for the story, popularity be damned. So I don’t necessarily stay away from mainstream series. And let me tell you, I’m one of the people who will not judge your options or selections. Your likes and dislikes are yours, so likewise, mine are mine alone, so I will try series that I am genuinely interested in, not because of anything else, especially not because of popularity.

I don’t feel left out by not understanding or connecting to something very popular. If there’s an inkling to try it, I will try it regardless of opinion and hype. Maybe instantly or later, but when there’s no interest, even if the buzz is loud, I won’t try it. I rarely experience “FOMO.” There’s no need to stress over things in which I’m not even remotely interested, so I could just keep up. I think at this age, where most things come quicker and are very accessible, the idea that you must have it right now compels us to do it. But sometimes it’s better to wait.

Because I’m inclined to try reading, or anything for that matter, with my interest or needs more than anything else, which is probably the reason why “fear of missing out” is not in my vocabulary. I think it’s futile to try something because I’m scared I’m out of the loop (unless it’s information, maybe something life-related, then it’s important to stay informed).