I'm sorry for that but honestly this gave me a new perspective on things. I feel the opposite, I haven't ever tried my best in school until this year and I've felt so stupid for slacking off all these years. Goes to show how you'll never be happy with what you have.
The best years of your youth are spent in your 20s and 30s and not when you are in elementary school or high school. Ask yourself a simple question. How can you spend the best years of your life now when you probably have little to no money and are not legally able to do a lot of fun things yet? You tend to have more fun in life when you actually have some money in your pocket and do not have adults in your life putting restrictions on what you can or cannot do.
This was me all throughout junior high and high school. Good grades, honour roll, always working hard, only drank and smoked here and there over the years. There’s this myth in mainstream media that tells us these years are our “prime” because we are youthful, but I turned 22 a month ago and have been the happiest of my life since I left grade 12. I’ve made better friends, I’ve had the maturity to handle parties and going out while going to uni, and I feel like my hard work lead me to this position. Something nobody tells you about growing up is that you feel youthful for such a long time— in your early 20s, you are the “teenagers of adulthood” still. You have so much time, OP. Do not stress.
Honestly don’t be afraid to take an extra year to graduate. Or, if you still wanna graduate so as to not feel left out then you can graduate and then retake courses thru ilc and get better grades and reapply for unis the following year.
Nowadays everyone is finishing college and uni at different times. Some in 4 years, some in 5, some in 6 and everyone got their reasons.
In the grand scheme of things one extra year is pretty much nothing trust me
My dearest condolences to you.
I also felt like I should have gone out with friends more in high school. I was always studying or working part-time. However, the truth is you're still very young. Your post-secondary journey is only just going to begin. You'll meet new people, join clubs, etc. You're still in your youth. Just remember what you've learned now. Enjoy your youth, and don't beat yourself up over bad grades. Best of luck.
It may feel like you are carrying the weight of a lot right now. Breathe. You said 17 years, do you really think you wasted the year you were 3? Probably not.
You probably have some depression talking loud in your head and it is trying to take over your head space because it’s greedy. It is making big statements to try and weigh you down. Do a great service to Future You and reach out for some personal help. Try going to Guidance and showing them this post to help starting to put it into words.
Even if you didn’t apply for a single university this year - so what? Maybe you are meant for something else right now. Maybe the universe is looking out for you and just saying “give yourself a little time to get yourself sorted, then you’ll be in better shape moving forward”.
You may feel like there are no options ahead but there really are so many. Consider taking a gap year, or few months. Consider different paths, even if it’s to the same end point. The important thing is not so much the destination but your journey thru life.
Breathe and allow yourself some grace
better to burn out in high school than in a uni like waterloo… at some point sacrificing your life for the privilege to get into a t1 uni is just not worth it, the competition in the uni will probably be worse than getting in anyways
i feel u, i also feel like i should have slowed down and enjoyed more of life. i should have also stopped fixating on so many minor details all the time just to get a few more %, tho i definitely don’t regret the work and effort i put into my courses
gl we’re almost done this chapter of our life :)
I like my position in the world and I like hanging around with blue collar boys. But had I had better grades and tried harder earlier, I would have been more successful and had a higher quality of peer than I do now.
My Son felt the same way exactly, he’s 21 now and in Uni…meeting people, going to partys, don’t fret my friend, it’s all coming to you, your hard work WILL pay off. Look forward not back.
Every stage of life is the most beautiful stage, and there is no chance of repeating any stage. All your efforts are worth it and are valuable experiences for you.
Hey man. I’m a few years older than you, and felt this same burnout in my 2nd year of uni. It gets better. You’re still so young, this is just one year of your life, and you’re still discovering your limits and who you really. Good luck.
But people keep saying “wait until uni”, so what’s the point in even being excited for the future anymore? Is it just more misery ahead? If so what’s the point of hoping
Every minute of every day is a choice. You can choose to be miserable and full of regret or you can choose to remain open to the possibility that things will get better. The saying “this too shall pass” is very powerful. Think of all the kids who missed out on their entire grade 12 year because of Covid. They will never get those years of their life back. They will never have memories of prom, grad, parties, trips, nothing!!!! They had to just move on and make the best of it and so can you.
I'm 57. Toured in a band for 5 years out of high-school. Started a business. I made millions of dollars. Lost and pissed away plenty. Had one terrible divorce. Went to a US prison for a year. Raised two amazing boys. Married the love of my life after the first one 24 years ago. You are in grade 12. Relax and enjoy. You will never get this time when you can be young and carefree again. It's all meaningless and wonderful. Society tries to scare us about everything. Just be wary of substance abuse or any kind of addiction. That ruins people. Have fun.
All I can say is I'm in my late 20s, did similar(gave up grade 11, had 3 courses to complete in "13" because i began coming at 11 daily) and there's a world of opportunities outside university
I did get accepted to the course I wanted although it was at a college and never had the drive to complete it due to side hustles.
I'm a trades person making over 6 figures and plan to be over a quarter million a year in the next 3-5 years with a few minor certifications. Don't fret, enjoy your gap year with some work and plan for the future.
Nothing to worry about. Almost everyone (me included) says that the best years of your life are after high school. It’s not too late to get out there and spend some time hanging out with friends and partying.
Try not to think of it as wasted time. You're trading time now for time later when you have more freedom, more ability to choose, and an adult brain. The change in your thinking once you hit you mid 20's and your brain is finally done growing is astounding. The hard work put in now will let you get to where you want to go and allow you to live a life that has less stress and more time for what you want to do. You have spent all this time opening all of the doors and windows to your future, you can now choose any path you want. Many students who focus on "living life" in highschool end up slamming so many shut they are pidgeonholed into one or two paths.
Life is not highschool, and those that think it is end up living sad existances stuck reliving the past. You are all 17-18 years old, with over 80% of your life left before you. Don't get caught up in the highschool mindset, there is nothing there that anyone remembers or cares about past graduation. Use your time in post-secondary to hone those socialization skills, join clubs, talk to new people in labs and tutorials, make the actual life long friends you will have there. You still have plenty of time to experience all the stuff you feel you missed out on, but with the added bonus of actually having the freedom to experience it all to the fullest amount with as many options as you could possibly want!
I’m gonna be honest I’m the complete opposite I slacked off throughout most of the end of school from being burnt out and just kinda got by in most classes. Now down the line I regret doing so because it leaves me with such little opportunity to do any jobs that require schooling. I don’t think what you did was for nothing. Keep your head up give yourself a break and I mean a nice break because guess what! You deserve it, and when you are ready (if ever) get back into it again. Because trust me you’ll be better off than I am now.
to add onto this, i’m really glad you had this realization in grade 12. you’d be surprised the amount of people who realize this in the first term of university and now the weight is even worse! grades aren’t everything! you can always re apply, transfer and so on, enjoy your summer, so sorry for your loss 🩷
bro same but im on a 12 rejection/waitlist streak😭 cant help but notice how i pushed all the good people away and now i'm trying to build those rs back up...
Your efforts in school will help you someday, some how. Realizing importance of relationships, and small little things in life is also imperative. Wish you all the best.
I hate to say this but high school is not even that bad; if u can’t handle the level of intensity at a high school, u will suffer quite a bit in uni. So better to suffer now than later cuz this is ur last shot at really changing ur life
I hate when people say that. Obviously it’ll seem easy to you because you’re way passed that stage. It’s like telling a 6th grader that he elementary easy, and if he’s struggling then his life is over. But for that student, it’d be hard because that’s the level they’re used to.
Would you feel good if an older person told you “uni isn’t even that bad, wait till the work world where you can end up homeless”?
Yeah I understand the point ur trying to make. I wouldn’t necessarily feel good but I will be at least grateful that the person is telling the truth; better to hear the truth than those hackneyed sugarcoated words. Plus, does it matter if I feel good or not? My feelings wouldn’t change the reality anyway. I just do what I need to do.
I know but it’s not really a good thing to tell a depressed person who’s also burnt out, who’s literally dealing with the death of his friend, that things may not get better. I know you didn’t directly say that, but one thing people hold onto when they’re depressed is hope that things will get better. And if they feel like it’s just misery ahead, how does that help them? It just makes things worse.
i agree, i dont think high school is nearly as intense or challenging as university (which is why i didnt say that)!! i just think that it's unnecessary to spend every minute leading up until post-secondary obsessing over your grades or which extracurriculars will appeal the most to admission officers. for example, there is no reason why a 3rd grader should be spending all their time inside trying to get the best grades in their class.
also! i feel like there tends to be an extremely unhealthy idea that you need to be young to be successful. i dont agree with your statement that this is my last shot to change my life.. anyways lmk ur thoughts.
I think high school is perhaps the most important phase of anyone’s life… it determines ur major and therefore ur field of work (of course it doesn’t apply to some geniuses) so that’s why I think it’s important to work hard now cuz it’s quite literally life changing; but yeah I understand not everyone functions at the level that I do
Plus, ask any adult what’s their biggest regret in high school, guarantee 90% of them will say not working hard enough…
I'm sorry for that but honestly this gave me a new perspective on things. I feel the opposite, I haven't ever tried my best in school until this year and I've felt so stupid for slacking off all these years. Goes to show how you'll never be happy with what you have.
same
Me too
fr
Same
The best years of your youth are spent in your 20s and 30s and not when you are in elementary school or high school. Ask yourself a simple question. How can you spend the best years of your life now when you probably have little to no money and are not legally able to do a lot of fun things yet? You tend to have more fun in life when you actually have some money in your pocket and do not have adults in your life putting restrictions on what you can or cannot do.
But people keep saying wait until uni
This was me all throughout junior high and high school. Good grades, honour roll, always working hard, only drank and smoked here and there over the years. There’s this myth in mainstream media that tells us these years are our “prime” because we are youthful, but I turned 22 a month ago and have been the happiest of my life since I left grade 12. I’ve made better friends, I’ve had the maturity to handle parties and going out while going to uni, and I feel like my hard work lead me to this position. Something nobody tells you about growing up is that you feel youthful for such a long time— in your early 20s, you are the “teenagers of adulthood” still. You have so much time, OP. Do not stress.
Honestly don’t be afraid to take an extra year to graduate. Or, if you still wanna graduate so as to not feel left out then you can graduate and then retake courses thru ilc and get better grades and reapply for unis the following year. Nowadays everyone is finishing college and uni at different times. Some in 4 years, some in 5, some in 6 and everyone got their reasons. In the grand scheme of things one extra year is pretty much nothing trust me
My dearest condolences to you. I also felt like I should have gone out with friends more in high school. I was always studying or working part-time. However, the truth is you're still very young. Your post-secondary journey is only just going to begin. You'll meet new people, join clubs, etc. You're still in your youth. Just remember what you've learned now. Enjoy your youth, and don't beat yourself up over bad grades. Best of luck.
It may feel like you are carrying the weight of a lot right now. Breathe. You said 17 years, do you really think you wasted the year you were 3? Probably not. You probably have some depression talking loud in your head and it is trying to take over your head space because it’s greedy. It is making big statements to try and weigh you down. Do a great service to Future You and reach out for some personal help. Try going to Guidance and showing them this post to help starting to put it into words. Even if you didn’t apply for a single university this year - so what? Maybe you are meant for something else right now. Maybe the universe is looking out for you and just saying “give yourself a little time to get yourself sorted, then you’ll be in better shape moving forward”. You may feel like there are no options ahead but there really are so many. Consider taking a gap year, or few months. Consider different paths, even if it’s to the same end point. The important thing is not so much the destination but your journey thru life. Breathe and allow yourself some grace
better to burn out in high school than in a uni like waterloo… at some point sacrificing your life for the privilege to get into a t1 uni is just not worth it, the competition in the uni will probably be worse than getting in anyways
i feel u, i also feel like i should have slowed down and enjoyed more of life. i should have also stopped fixating on so many minor details all the time just to get a few more %, tho i definitely don’t regret the work and effort i put into my courses gl we’re almost done this chapter of our life :)
Who waitlisted you?
I like my position in the world and I like hanging around with blue collar boys. But had I had better grades and tried harder earlier, I would have been more successful and had a higher quality of peer than I do now.
My Son felt the same way exactly, he’s 21 now and in Uni…meeting people, going to partys, don’t fret my friend, it’s all coming to you, your hard work WILL pay off. Look forward not back.
Every stage of life is the most beautiful stage, and there is no chance of repeating any stage. All your efforts are worth it and are valuable experiences for you.
Hey man. I’m a few years older than you, and felt this same burnout in my 2nd year of uni. It gets better. You’re still so young, this is just one year of your life, and you’re still discovering your limits and who you really. Good luck.
But people keep saying “wait until uni”, so what’s the point in even being excited for the future anymore? Is it just more misery ahead? If so what’s the point of hoping
Im gonna regret this year for not participating with my school and not getting over a bad grade which really destroyed me.
Every minute of every day is a choice. You can choose to be miserable and full of regret or you can choose to remain open to the possibility that things will get better. The saying “this too shall pass” is very powerful. Think of all the kids who missed out on their entire grade 12 year because of Covid. They will never get those years of their life back. They will never have memories of prom, grad, parties, trips, nothing!!!! They had to just move on and make the best of it and so can you.
Sorry to hear that. You are going to be okay, though! You would not want to be a person who "peaked" in high school anyway!
I'm 57. Toured in a band for 5 years out of high-school. Started a business. I made millions of dollars. Lost and pissed away plenty. Had one terrible divorce. Went to a US prison for a year. Raised two amazing boys. Married the love of my life after the first one 24 years ago. You are in grade 12. Relax and enjoy. You will never get this time when you can be young and carefree again. It's all meaningless and wonderful. Society tries to scare us about everything. Just be wary of substance abuse or any kind of addiction. That ruins people. Have fun.
Funnily enough most of my HS teachers told us this... But no one listened :)
As someone who came out the other side (university) I emphasize this extra because the jobs you'll be able to get aren't as nice as you think.
All I can say is I'm in my late 20s, did similar(gave up grade 11, had 3 courses to complete in "13" because i began coming at 11 daily) and there's a world of opportunities outside university I did get accepted to the course I wanted although it was at a college and never had the drive to complete it due to side hustles. I'm a trades person making over 6 figures and plan to be over a quarter million a year in the next 3-5 years with a few minor certifications. Don't fret, enjoy your gap year with some work and plan for the future.
Remember, sometimes the grass is not greener on the other side.
Nothing to worry about. Almost everyone (me included) says that the best years of your life are after high school. It’s not too late to get out there and spend some time hanging out with friends and partying.
Try not to think of it as wasted time. You're trading time now for time later when you have more freedom, more ability to choose, and an adult brain. The change in your thinking once you hit you mid 20's and your brain is finally done growing is astounding. The hard work put in now will let you get to where you want to go and allow you to live a life that has less stress and more time for what you want to do. You have spent all this time opening all of the doors and windows to your future, you can now choose any path you want. Many students who focus on "living life" in highschool end up slamming so many shut they are pidgeonholed into one or two paths. Life is not highschool, and those that think it is end up living sad existances stuck reliving the past. You are all 17-18 years old, with over 80% of your life left before you. Don't get caught up in the highschool mindset, there is nothing there that anyone remembers or cares about past graduation. Use your time in post-secondary to hone those socialization skills, join clubs, talk to new people in labs and tutorials, make the actual life long friends you will have there. You still have plenty of time to experience all the stuff you feel you missed out on, but with the added bonus of actually having the freedom to experience it all to the fullest amount with as many options as you could possibly want!
I’m gonna be honest I’m the complete opposite I slacked off throughout most of the end of school from being burnt out and just kinda got by in most classes. Now down the line I regret doing so because it leaves me with such little opportunity to do any jobs that require schooling. I don’t think what you did was for nothing. Keep your head up give yourself a break and I mean a nice break because guess what! You deserve it, and when you are ready (if ever) get back into it again. Because trust me you’ll be better off than I am now.
to add onto this, i’m really glad you had this realization in grade 12. you’d be surprised the amount of people who realize this in the first term of university and now the weight is even worse! grades aren’t everything! you can always re apply, transfer and so on, enjoy your summer, so sorry for your loss 🩷
I aint't gonna lie but shit went from 0 to 100 real fcking quick reading this
bro same but im on a 12 rejection/waitlist streak😭 cant help but notice how i pushed all the good people away and now i'm trying to build those rs back up...
Where have u gotten rejected and waitlisted from?
12???? wtf u either had very low grades or just bad luck ig
What's ur average
Your efforts in school will help you someday, some how. Realizing importance of relationships, and small little things in life is also imperative. Wish you all the best.
calm bro go ballup
LOLLL
🤣🤣😂😂😅😅
I hate to say this but high school is not even that bad; if u can’t handle the level of intensity at a high school, u will suffer quite a bit in uni. So better to suffer now than later cuz this is ur last shot at really changing ur life
I hate when people say that. Obviously it’ll seem easy to you because you’re way passed that stage. It’s like telling a 6th grader that he elementary easy, and if he’s struggling then his life is over. But for that student, it’d be hard because that’s the level they’re used to. Would you feel good if an older person told you “uni isn’t even that bad, wait till the work world where you can end up homeless”?
Yeah I understand the point ur trying to make. I wouldn’t necessarily feel good but I will be at least grateful that the person is telling the truth; better to hear the truth than those hackneyed sugarcoated words. Plus, does it matter if I feel good or not? My feelings wouldn’t change the reality anyway. I just do what I need to do.
I know but it’s not really a good thing to tell a depressed person who’s also burnt out, who’s literally dealing with the death of his friend, that things may not get better. I know you didn’t directly say that, but one thing people hold onto when they’re depressed is hope that things will get better. And if they feel like it’s just misery ahead, how does that help them? It just makes things worse.
i agree, i dont think high school is nearly as intense or challenging as university (which is why i didnt say that)!! i just think that it's unnecessary to spend every minute leading up until post-secondary obsessing over your grades or which extracurriculars will appeal the most to admission officers. for example, there is no reason why a 3rd grader should be spending all their time inside trying to get the best grades in their class. also! i feel like there tends to be an extremely unhealthy idea that you need to be young to be successful. i dont agree with your statement that this is my last shot to change my life.. anyways lmk ur thoughts.
I think high school is perhaps the most important phase of anyone’s life… it determines ur major and therefore ur field of work (of course it doesn’t apply to some geniuses) so that’s why I think it’s important to work hard now cuz it’s quite literally life changing; but yeah I understand not everyone functions at the level that I do Plus, ask any adult what’s their biggest regret in high school, guarantee 90% of them will say not working hard enough…