by Nick Hammond ‘25

As I’ve gotten older, and especially as my high school experience comes to a close, I have begun reassessing what is truly important to me and what activities and experiences I want to prioritize. I have found great fulfillment and passion by reaching into many different areas of creative expression and work, but I have also become incredibly burnt out at times. As I reflect upon this unique period of my life, I’ve come away proud of how much I’ve accomplished, but I’ve also learned from the stress that came along with pursuing these achievements up to my own standards.

In my four years, I’ve constantly kept myself busy – well, somewhat. Despite truly having a lot on my plate at times, I rarely allowed myself to feel rested (even when I had downtime and breaks) and always had a nagging feeling that I should be doing more, or that there was something more productive I could be doing. But all this ultimately led to me feeling overwhelmed, anxious, and thus shutting down. I’ve wrestled with swinging between feeling over- and under-committed, but what I am now working towards is accepting myself where I am and feeling okay with not doing as much – as long as I am spending my time aligning with my values and prioritizing the activities that leave me most fulfilled.

However, I still believe that committing to a variety of extracurriculars, clubs, and relationships can have great value in these explorative years of your youth. As long as you pursue them with honest interest and curiosity, you can find new paths to explore in life that you never would have considered even a possibility for you. But what I know now is to not be so harsh on yourself. This act of avoiding overcommitting doesn’t mean to be flakey, not care, or to not put an honest effort into these things, but to me it means to be realistic with yourself.

I’ve drowned myself in perfectionism these past few years, and it’s often left me enjoying the things I love less than I could. Be free. If you commit to a lot, give it your all, but realize that you simply cannot perform at your peak or idealized ability in every activity or class. Give yourself time to rest; to appreciate all that you have achieved. Turn down your FOMO a bit, and listen to you.