It's become commonplace to be a highschool student who takes several advanced classes, participates in multiple clubs before and after school, wins competitions on the weekends, and builds robots for fun in their spare time. I have friends who think they aren't taking enough AP classes because they are "only" graduating with ten. I know a student with nearly straight A's who is convinced he will never go to college because he is "only" a member of two clubs.

It's time to stop doing things. It's time to remove the word "only" from your vocabulary.

Although the future is important, so is the present. If you spend your whole life working toward your future, you won't really be living. If you can't look back on your teenage years with at least a little nostalgia, what's the point?

Humans aren't equipped to sleep for four hours a day, or to memorize textbooks every night. By pushing yourself to succeed in everything, you're setting yourself up for failure.

It literally doesn't matter whether your SAT score is a 1600 or a 1590. It doesn't even matter if you get a 900. Literally nothing matters.

Let the pressure of other people's expectations go. It's your life! Start living it!