@PeelingOranges This is a lovely post, thankyou so much for sharing 😊
Firstly, BIG congrats to you for finishing exams!! I just finished exams yesterday too, so I'm currently in the comedown stage where i'm not quite sure what to do with myself now that I don't need to be studying every moment of the day 😂. I'd like to affirm that you should absolutely be proud of yourself, and celebrate lots - uni is really intensive, (especially at exam time!), so finishing up for the semester is a massive deal!
I love all the reflection you've included in this post, it seems like you've done lots of processing. You sound incredibly self-aware and articulate, these are skills that I'm really trying to develop at the moment. I had a somewhat similar experience, particularly during highschool, in the sense that I consistently got really good marks. I've always worked incredibly hard to do well, and am consistently pretty nervous about underachieving, but whenever I express any nervousness or anxiety, about underachieving people tend to brush it off! This has always made me feel a little uncared for, and like my feelings aren't worthy of validation. All of this is to say that I definietly relate to lots of what you've described.
My experience has been a little different in the sense that I always recieved lots of affirmation from my parents, which was lovely as I was growing up, and definitely something that I really appreciate now. I've been trying lately to work on positive self talk, and like you mentioned, being kinder to myself. I'm so glad to hear that you've been working on this too, I think it's so incredibly important.
I'm hoping that you're taking this break to have some 'you' time, do some self care, and have an absolutely wonderful celebration with your friend!!! You absolutely deserve it 💜
