I’m currently on a train on the way back home for the winter break. It’s been a long term but also somehow a quick term. I just wanted to write this blog kind of summarising my last couple of weeks.

The last few weeks have been tough, but they have also been very rewarding. I spent a lot of time in the library over the last couple of weeks, my longest time being 14 hours. I realised I was there for too long when I saw people in the morning who I saw the day before in the evening. You may ask what has kept me so busy over this period, well in the last few weeks I had lots of university work to do such as tests, quizzes, and coursework plus I had to apply for law firms and had rugby commitments.

To manage my time over this period, I took ownership of my obligations rather than complaining and leaving it all till the end which will always lead to too much stress and pressure; emotions no one truly enjoys. I had to make sacrifices and truly find what was important to me, then prioritise those tasks, accordingly, giving myself plenty of time to complete those tasks without overloading myself. I started to keep track of all my tasks and list them by priority to get a better overview of what needed to be done. By doing this I can relax and truly get a hold of what needs to be done so I can tackle each task and see my progress as I get things done.

Personally, what keeps me going is knowing there is a light at the end of the tunnel and if I keep going, I will be proud of myself for everything I have accomplished. Bear in mind it’s important to take care of yourself and give yourself mental breaks, there are things more important than exam results, it all doesn’t matter if you are ultimately not happy. The 24/7 hustle culture which is prevalent in our generation is not sustainable and probably not genuine; people only show the highlights of their lives and comparing themselves to others is very unhealthy.

Sitting here on this train while typing on my laptop I realised that nothing really lasts forever, last week while I was in the thick of it, getting those applications in, writing my coursework, and then also having my tests at the back of my mind I could have easily said I give up and said it’s not worth it. Instead, I persevered, and I am very happy I did because I now relax knowing I put in the work, and no one can take that away from me.

Now my eyes are on the future, right now the plan is to take a little well-deserved break (not too long of course). Over the holiday I plan to go back to the part-time job I had over the summer, apply to some further firms, and revise a few modules so that I’m prepared for next term, and I can get off on the right foot. To sustain growth and success you can’t always have your foot on the gas and sometimes take a step back to reflect and pat yourself on the back. It’s not always about looking ahead at the finish line, sometimes take a break and truly enjoy the journey.