Dear students,
I am addressing every student on the planet. Everyone dedicating themselves to finishing a degree or any level/type of education. Every student struggling to find balance between their ambition and their social life, their dreams and their relationships. All the people clinging to the life they imagine they will have once they finish school. Every person trying to obtain a degree within some arbitrary timeline generally accepted as "normal." {You don't want to know how many times I had to move the period in and out of the quotation mark}
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Slow down. Take a breathe. You don't have to get your degree in 4 years. Take 10. You don't have to major in two things to prove something to someone. They don't determine your worth. You don't have to follow the traditional route to your end goal. Go back when you're done having kids or finding your way. Take time off. Enjoy life while you're pursuing your future. Take a few less hours here or there and a few more months finishing.
Make use of a gap year. Skip finals and go on a road trip. Remind yourself that your performance on paper does not reflect your value in life or even your intelligence. You can be successful without getting all A's. Some of the most successful people didn't go to college. A few of your idols and heroes have no degree.
Take breaks when you're studying. Choose sleep over cramming and live with whatever grade is your best. Some days that will be barely passing and others you'll blow it out of the water. You're allowed to fluctuate and question your path. You can change your mind and experience a little bit of everything until you find what lights your soul on fire.
Don't be afraid if that thing that sets you on fire isn't what you originally thought it should or would be. Life can surprise you. As long as you're learning and growing and taking care of yourself, the rest will fall into place. It may take you until you are in your thirties, maybe forties, who knows. You may never settle down to one career or trade. You may always be trying new things and that is okay! We need people to follow their passion. People to light the way for a new generation.
Don't do what your told is best. Do what you feel is right for you. Don't do it for the money or recognition. Don't do it for the world or your friends or your family. Put your pride aside and all the things you've proclaimed you'll accomplish, and find what fulfills you. This is your only life. Don't get caught up in pursuing something so diligently that you lose the ability to enjoy who and where you are right here in this moment. Because who and where you are right now deserves to be happy too.
Sincerely,
Me
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