As the holiday season approaches, there’s a noticeable cheer in the air as people eagerly anticipate the Christmas spirit and the excitement of gift-giving. 

Well, most people are.

For many high school seniors, including myself, the holiday season also marks a time of reflection and uncertainty as college decisions begin to roll in. It’s a time when we find ourselves standing at a crossroads, contemplating a future that feels both exhilarating and overwhelming. For many of us, these decisions symbolize the end of over a decade of hard work, tests, academics, extracurriculars, and personal growth. Yet, amid all of this, it’s easy to get lost in the noise of expectations, external pressures, and the weight of making a decision that will shape the next chapter of our lives.

I’m currently in that position, and it’s surreal to think about. All the effort I’ve poured into academics and extracurriculars over the past 12 or 13 years is culminating into a digital resume: a 650-word personal statement, an activity and awards list, a set of supplemental essays, and maybe even an interview. Suddenly, this is what it all boils down to, what can ultimately separate an admission from a rejection. And, especially as people ask me to reflect on my life, I find myself wondering: How do you look back on your childhood or your experiences when, for years, you’ve been so focused on the next milestone, the next deadline, the next achievement? How am I supposed to know how I’ll change the world? I’ve been on autopilot for so long, moving from one obligation to the next without much time to pause and truly think about how I’ve evolved. 

The only kind of evolution I see is the constant drive for more: achieving higher grades and better test scores, engaging in more extracurricular activities, earning more prestigious awards, building stronger connections with Stanford professors, developing increased initiative to start a nonprofit or conduct research, the list goes on. 

Even hobbies have started to feel like obligations. As a musician myself, the emphasis often seems to be on winning awards. While music can be enjoyable for its own sake, it doesn’t seem to hold the same value for college admissions (or parents) unless you achieve recognition at the state or national level—at least, that’s the sense I get from those around me.

The culture around us celebrates the person who can do it all, and I bought into that mentality. I pushed myself to excel in academics, clubs, and even sports as a young child, priding myself on doing it all without rest. I thought that if I worked hard enough and sacrificed enough, I’d eventually see the rewards.

But here’s the thing: most of us believe all the hard work, the sacrifices, the relentless drive to be the best, must lead somewhere. But what happens when it doesn’t? What happens when, despite all of that effort, the results don’t turn out as expected? It’s a crushing realization, especially when you’ve invested so much of yourself into something that, in the end, feels like it was for nothing. Standing here on the edge of this uncertain future, it’s hard not to wonder if it was all just a series of steps leading to a dead end. Frankly, I’m scared of falling into that rut myself. 

This article isn’t meant to dissuade seniors or anyone from working hard or from striving to achieve, but it’s a reminder that there’s more to life than chasing goals that don’t have meaning for you. And at some point, you have to stop and reflect on whether the path you’re on is truly the one that will make you happy or if you’re just following the blueprint set out by everyone else around you.

For the underclassmen reading this: you’re still in the early stages of this journey, and it’s easy to get caught up in the chase. Everyone around you, from your teachers to your parents to society at large, will tell you that success is all about stacking up the grades, the awards, the accolades, the college acceptances. But I’m here to remind you to never lose sight of why you’re doing what you’re doing. Pursue education for the right reasons: because you’re genuinely curious, because you want to learn, because you want to grow. Your education is about more than just checking off boxes or earning points in a competition you didn’t even sign up for.

The truth is, you are not defined by the name of the school you attend or the accolades you collect. You are defined by your curiosity, your resilience, and your ability to think critically about the world around you. Education is not just about earning a diploma; it’s about learning how to think, how to solve problems, how to question assumptions, and how to grow as a person. 

So, take a step back and breathe. It’s easy to get lost in the pressure to “achieve,” but the most important thing you can do is learn how to live with intention. There is no one right way to be successful. Life will unfold in ways you can’t even imagine right now, and it’s okay if you don’t have everything figured out yet. In fact, it’s okay if you never have it all figured out. The journey is just as important as the destination. You don’t need to prove your worth through your achievements, and you don’t need to measure your success by anyone else’s standards. You are enough, just as you are, and you have everything you need to find your own path, on your own terms.