Layout by: Cianyah Mendoza
Published by: Aprilyn Sado
Date Published: March 21, 2025
Time Published: 2:45 PM
Category: Prose
Theme: The hardships and sacrifices that come with reaching the top and the struggle to give up that spot.
Is the whole point of life really just a constant fight to reach the top—to outshine, outdo, and outlast the rest? I have spent years chasing perfection, giving everything I have to stay at the top. The late nights spent reading textbooks, the exhaustion that never fades, the fun moments put aside—all for the sake of being the best. But now, as I sit here staring at yet another pile of expectations, I wonder... is that all there is to life?
I've given up so much to be here. But what if all the burden becomes too much and I choose to step down from the top spot, will people still look at me proudly and tell me that I did well, like they used to? Or will all my achievements be forgotten the moment I stop trying? Everything I have given—my time, happiness, the tiny pieces of myself that I will never get back—will they all have been for nothing?
And if I do decide to stop running this never-ending race, what then? Will everything I’ve worked so hard for simply disappear? The long nights, the stress, the silent breakdowns behind closed doors—all the blood, sweat, and tears I’ve poured into this—will they fade into nothing more than distant memories of the past that I once had?
For so long, I’ve been trying to be the perfect student, the perfect little girl, the perfect version of what everyone expects me to be. I’ve shaped my life around the expectations of others, molding myself into someone who always has to be on top. But in chasing the top, I feel like I’ve started losing myself. The harder I push, the more I forget who I was before all of this pressure consumed me.
Maybe I don’t have the exact answers right now. Maybe I don’t need them. Maybe, for once, I just need to let myself exist without trying so hard to prove my worth.
Maybe, I just need to remember that life is more than a fight to reach the top. It’s more than late nights, perfect grades, and the endless chase for success. It’s about finding meaning beyond achievements, about allowing myself to breathe, to rest, to live for myself, not for anyone else. What I choose to do with my life—and whatever comes from it—should be mine to decide, and mine alone. And that should be enough.
No comments:
Post a Comment