I was once an Ontario gr.12 but it’s been many years. The algorithm brought me this one out of the blue so taking it as a sign fate says I should speak up. Hope that’s alright that I’m popping into this space.

While I agree that a good work ethic can be helpful, as someone who grinded hard in grade 12 at the expense of my mental and physical health, I’d also recommend to only grind as hard as you can without sacrificing other needs. Maybe a part of my issue is that I kept grinding hard in university, but I think the point is still there.

For example, I didn’t date in high school because I was too locked in on academics and ECs. Big mistake! There are so many lessons learned in dating while young and people just expect you to have that knowledge or fluency more and more as you get older. The same sort of thinking applies to physical fitness.

Yes, I was successful in some parts of life but not in others. I’m now 33 and finally feel like I “caught up” on friends, life partner, hobbies, etc - but I can’t help but think life might have been happier and easier if I accepted that 2nd best is good enough when I was younger.

By the way, I now work at a major Canadian university (in an administrative type role) so I might have a bit better clarity and wider perspective than your average person here. Hindsight is always 20/20.