Food for thought - but actually no food involved in this post

Life here is absolutely wonderful. I am very happy and there is nothing else I would rather be doing in life right now.

However, I understand that I paint a very positive picture of the school and the students. It may seem like a country club of perks and fun. And yes, there are certainly elements that seem like this. I would just like to offer a few other thoughts that may put some things in perspective about life here.

Life here isn't perfect. Students here, including myself, experience pretty significant lows. We often cover these up but we also have learned to talk about it with each other. Many students had some really difficult experiences before coming here and some still struggle with those issues while they are at Stanford. Others face entirely new challenges and need a support system to help them through the challenges.

For example, most students were and are under an extreme amount of pressure. The expectations placed on them by themselves, their family, their teachers, and their communities are big. Students worked really hard in high school and before that and made different sacrifices to get here. A few sacrifices include sleep deprivation, social suicide, giving up of interests.

The pressure to succeed doesn't end when you get in to Stanford. Students feel a pressure to prove themselves at school and in the many years of life they afterwards. Everything we worked for up until now was basically preparing for life here and now we have to figure out what we are doing the rest of our lives. There is an expectation to get internships, get good grades, be involved, and be happy at the same time. When living with some of the coolest people in the world, it is difficult to balance work and social life.

People get into their own schedules. Some learn to work with and motivate each other while others learn to crack down at the library for a couple hours. We have to decide how many jobs or how many activities to do in order to maintain our sanity. I guess that isn't too much different from high school. But there is a lot of adjustment to a different atmosphere.