By: Olivia Cammalleri
My dad had always told me about the “10-Minute Rule” when I was dealing with the stress of finding friends and the petty drama middle school and high school endured. This rule was ultimately a way to decide if something was worth your time stressing over by sitting with the “issue” for 10 minutes. In those 10 minutes, you would rethink what was happening and ultimately conclude if it was really that serious. And honestly, it rarely was. Through my journey using this rule, I have come up with 3 things that won't matter in 10 minutes hoping that it would show other people who relate that, It's Not That Serious Babes.
#1: That Boy/Girl Not Liking You Back
We are starting with a popular one, and if I'm gonna be honest this was the hardest one for me to overcome. So you met this person at a party, in class, or just through a friend. You tell your friends they are the ones, I mean, they are perfect. Perfect hair, perfect style, no issues at all really (even though this doesn't exist and if you do find one, no you didn't!). Then suddenly you catch wind that they Don't.Like.You.Back. The dreaded thought. You think your life is over, they left you on delivered, no worse, on OPEN!! Okay, calm down and let's take a look at the situation *cue the 10-minute timer*. For one, they aren't perfect. You come to realize that they are kind of bland, don't know how to hold a conversation, smell bad, or you really don't like their friends. You start to realize that you never really heard from them when you didn’t text first. You realize they just remind you of your ex. You realize you only like the idea of them or you just saw an opportunity for a relationship and took it. Ultimately, they aren't the ones and that’s okay! I mean your “one” won't be perfect either, but they will definitely feel the same way about you that you do them. So take a breath, it's okay. There are so many more people out there, more awkward dates, funny stories, and unfortunately heartbreaks to experience. Love is so prosperous and fun and will lead us to the right people. But for now, please save yourself the scrolling and stop checking if they viewed your insta story cause, It's Not That Serious Babes.
#2: You Missed the Huge Party
Tragedy has struck, you missed what seems to be the BEST party of the semester, no, year, because you had to go home for the weekend. Everyone is talking about how amazing the night was and all you can think about is the amount of FOMO you have. The night before you stayed up watching all the Snapchat videos of all your friends having a blast, while you sulked in your bed at home. Take a breath. We have all faced some sort of FOMO in our lives, and it does suck but let's look at this situation with clearer eyes. Yes, it was a fun party but I assure you that missing the party will not affect your life in any way. People had fun, but there are so many more parties to come. No, your friends didn't miraculously get closer from just ONE NIGHT and are suddenly not interested in you anymore. You have to remember that Snapchat stories are just the highlights of the night so it always looks way better on social media than it is in real life. So don't worry, you didn't miss out on the best night of your life. I mean, it's pretty sad if the best night of your life was a random, sweaty, frat party that happened to be on the weekend you were home. Next weekend is only 3 (if you partake in Thirsty Thursday) days away and you are going to go out with your friends and have a good time and realize that the “huge” party you missed was merely just another night out and was, Not That Serious Babes.
#3: You failed That Test/Did Badly on an Assignment
So you have been studying for this test or doing this assignment for what seems like centuries. You completed all the right steps: planning, researching, drafting, revising, finalizing, etc. It's the day when it's due, or when you finally can have all your hard work pay off and you feel really good. You are confident that you will get the grade you want and believe you deserve. Two weeks later your friend from the class texts you asking what grade you got. Having no idea that the grades came out, you quickly open your browser and go to your class's grade book and…” I GOT A C!?”. Oh no. This can't be right. You had worked so hard on this assignment and were so confident. Yes, this feeling sucks especially cause your friend who did the assignment last minute got a B. You start to think of the worst things; “I'm gonna fail the class now”, “if that's my hardest work I can literally never get a better grade”, “my teacher hates me”, “everyone did better than me”, “I'm the dumbest in the class”. STOP! Trust me when I say that beating yourself up over something you really can't change is never a good idea. You can't change the grade you got, but, this isn't the end of your academic career. It's one test, one essay, and one assignment. Let's think. For one thing, you are not dumb. Everyone gets a bad grade, and it doesn't define your academic abilities. Your teacher doesn't hate you, they just felt like what you did for the assignment wasn't what they were looking for and that is okay. This doesn't mean all your work was for nothing. There are also so many ways to try and fix this situation. You should always ask your teacher for extra credit, and if they don't have any, you can ask to meet with them separately to see why you got the grade that you got. This will not only help you understand where you are faulted, but it will also show the teacher how much you care about the class and your work. From experience, it's never bad to be the teacher's pet. So don’t worry, you are going to grow from this. You will learn new ways to study that might work better for you and give you a better grade next time. This isn't the end all be all moment, there will be other assignments and tests to get your grade up so stop staring at the Moonami grade book, get yourself a sweet treat, and put it to the side because, in the grand scheme of things, It's Not That Serious Babes (and you definitely have work to do, so get a move on).