Wishlist, Please Wait Till I Get a Job

I don't know if every girl does this, but I definitely do. Almost every night before sleeping, I open Myntra, Nykaa or some shopping app. I literally tell myself, "I'm not buying anything, just looking." And somehow one hour disappears.I scroll through cute tops, oversized hoodies, cargos, dresses, sneakers, bags... everything. Then I see a skincare reel on Instagram. The girl says, "This serum changed my skin." So I open Nykaa and search for it. While searching, I find another product. Then another. Before I know it, my cart has a cleanser, toner, serum, sunscreen, lip balm, moisturizer and things I didn't even know existed five minutes ago.

The best part? I don't buy anything.

I just keep adding everything to my wishlist like future me is secretly rich.

Sometimes I even make full outfits in my head. This top with those jeans. White shoes. Cute earrings. Hair open. Maybe a few pictures with friends in college. In my imagination, I already own everything. Then I remember...

I'm a student.

My bank balance immediately brings me back to reality. I open my banking app hoping some miracle happened overnight. Nope. Same amount. I just laugh at myself and close both apps.

I think the funniest thing about being a student is how we become financial experts without even studying finance. I calculate everything.

Maybe I can buy that one hoodie.

Then college suddenly decides to take money for something random. Notes, printouts, travelling, project materials, college events... and there goes my hoodie again.

My favourite sentence has become, "I'll buy it next month."

I've been saying "next month" for months now.

And don't even get me started on sales.

The notification comes like...SALEEEEE

Suddenly I feel like if I don't buy that top today, I'll regret it forever. I quickly open the app, add everything to the cart, apply every coupon possible, remove one item, add another one, remove it again...

After fifteen minutes of hard work...

I still don't place the order.

I just exit the app like nothing happened.

Sometimes it actually feels a little bad. Not because I want branded clothes or expensive skincare. It's just that once in a while, I wish I could buy something without thinking ten times about the price.

My wardrobe isn't even empty. I still wear the same favourite jeans and oversized T-shirt most of the time because they're comfortable. But somehow every time I scroll online, my brain acts like I have absolutely nothing to wear.

Instagram makes it worse. Every influencer has perfect outfits, perfect skincare, perfect room, perfect everything. For five minutes I also feel like I need all of it. Then I remember half of them are probably getting those products for free while I'm sitting here calculating whether buying one lip balm is a good financial decision.

Being a student is honestly funny sometimes. We have big dreams, expensive taste and a very small budget. So instead of shopping, we become professional wishlisters. We save reels, take screenshots, add things to the wishlist and tell ourselves, "One day."

And honestly, I think that day will come. Maybe after I get my first salary, I'll finally go back to my wishlist and buy at least one thing without checking my bank balance five times.

Until then, my routine is fixed. Scroll-Add to wishlist-Imagine my future-Close the app-Cry a little-Repeat tomorrow. 😭