I fell in love with Academia and now it is becoming a little bit concerning...

Hustle culture, ''that'' girl, Rory Gilmore and teachers putting pressure on you. For the past years, I have been there. Day in, day out. There was no day, I wouldn't feel guilty, because I haven't finished an extra load of studying even though too exhausted to make myself a meal. I have been trying to get the best grades, being ahead of everything and everyone just to have that one final grade that I wish for. I knew from the very beginning of my A-levels that I need to be better, smarter, faster if I want to get into medical school. And let me tell you one thing: I was so focused on my grades that I have started to neglect all my other areas of life like my hobbies, my social life or even my own well-being. The paradox in it is the fact, that my grades did NOT get necessery better and I did Not get smarter, all because I haven't stressed personal growth enough. Plus, I became very unhappy, as the majority of my subjects did not resonate with my personal passion for medicine, literaure and art. I have become a machine, working all day on things that I internaly despised and spending so much time on things you do not enjoy at all is the quick way into overall dissatisfaction at least. Now that I have practically finished school, I can say,  it did not have to be that horrible. I should have invested more time into hobbies and self-education on things that resonate with me. I should have read more books and articles. I should have studied smarter for my classes, but most and foremost, I should not have made school my entire world. There is so much to see and explore. There are endless things to do and get lost into. 

I made my life miserable in school, but it didn't have to be that way. I could have been happy and it would help me to get better grades. Instead, I chose to be stressed out all the time. If I have one tip, let it be this one:

Choose yourself and your own personal growth over grades. What use have the best grades if you are empty inside?