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Taking time off from school and returning later as an adult was life-changing for me. Our stories are very different, but I relate very much to your feelings about having the ability to appreciate school once you’ve taken time to pursue other things, reflect, and “grow up” a little outside of it. I hope you have a great final year! As I’m sure you know, going to Harvard is a very special opportunity that you’ve worked hard for. Enjoy it while you can. :)
Same here I could still remember I was only starting college back then and I've watched most of his videos over and over again just to, you know, get some inspiration. I am very happy with his channel's growth.
From a subscriber that has been following since your first year of school to now, you've grown a lot. From growth book, shaving your head bald, joining a contest with brilliant people around the world and to finally having a live stream talking about books. Damn.
John, you changed my academic life. When I found your channel I was in 8th grade and failing 3 classes. Your passion for learning and approach to academics were inspiring. This changed the way I approached school. I am now in 11th grade and taking 6 AP classes with straight A’s. Thank you John.
I can’t believe I was a baby as well when I first began watching your videos! I changed my major, I took a leave of absence as well & I got into reading because of you! Thanks John. Can’t wait for the many more years to come :)
When you talked about the scarcity mindset, I felt that. I graduated college a few months ago, and when 2020 came about, I realized I had drained my battery, spending that energy almost entirely on prepping for the future like you mentioned. Don’t get me wrong, it’s got it’s merits, but it came at the expense of many opportunities and experiences I wish I would’ve savored in the moment. Worst part was I couldn’t do anything about it, since my last 1.5 yrs were virtual. Similar to you, I’ve been recharging my battery in a more meaningful way. And I’m probably the happiest/most hopeful I’ve been in the last year and a half. Thanks for sharing, really resonated !
So glad to hear you've come to a similar realization Danny! It's a really hard mindset to shake but I'm glad that you're on the up and I hope everything is going super well for you!
Online school is so overrated… I was in school with so much motivation, with so much passion. Getting my engineering degree has always been my goal. But this year I completely burned out. I neglected my health, got so much stress I didn’t see a way out, pushed my family and friends away, got sick very often (my immune system was/is a mess). I was scared of everything. I still feel and experience those negative feelings. For almost a year now, I go see a therapist. But in the mean time I feel like I grew a lot, I became more mature and became more aware what it’s like to live in the world I’m living in. I had the “time” to think about the things I really want to do, I really want to achieve. I thought about the things I like, my passions. So this horrible time brought me closer to myself. Glad to experience it, sad I had to go through it for almost two years now. I hope next year I can finally go to school with new stranger friends and I can finally finish my master degree in engineering with the passion I have.
Sorry to hear about your experience. I’m currently in my first sem of grad school and things have been out of balanced as in my sleep cycle and social life. Like yours, I aim to pursue my main well target which is my field but unfortunately things can get awry… online classes are somewhat a blessing for me as well because I have more time to get back to my studies without worrying about transportation and time taken to get back home etc. I think I’m quite lucky to have a study group from people from my batch, thankfully i can connect with people despite the current condition. So I hope same goes for you! It’s a good thing that I found people who actually experiencing almost similar situation here :)
Thanks for sharing John. It has actually been a shitty year and sometimes because of external situations that are out of our control we just forget to look at the bigger picture, appreciate all the things we have and to value our friendships.
Very true John, I think it's so hard for us in our generation to take the time to enjoy the present. I'm in my last year of medical school and I have made the conscious decision to just enjoy the last upcoming months- no extracurriculars, no additional classes- just my friends I will be saying goodbye to soon after not seeing them for one and a half years. It's hard but like you said- we're never getting this time back. Good luck with the new year, I'm so happy you made the decision to live life First. Let's make it count in the most unambitious way possible!
Seeing you go from your first day at Harvard to know being in your final year has been a real roller coaster. I'm not sure if other subscribers have noticed your shift from a strong focus on academics to a more relax attitude and live in the moment. It's been amazing seeing your growth, and the work you did in the past year was the most unique in terms of content. From the different projects with A.I. to your book collaboration, the ventilator project you worked on, and the more honest version of yourself that you put out there. You've been a significant inspiration to the people I've recommended you to and to me. I just wanted to say thanks for all the work you put into your youtube because I think your most significant strength is not your intellect or adversity in trying new things. It's your ability to gather and inspire the people around you to go beyond what they usually can. From a fellow Uni student, Cheers for your future 1 Million subscribers!
Love how your videos are being more and more relatable! I do enjoy the past videos about productivity but seeing one of my admired creator sharing the same concerns as I am is a whole new feeling. Online school is really hard. I hate that happened in my final high school year. But also on the other side, I get to learn how to deal with those difficult times. I guess that built our tolerance to adversity and also, gave us some time to review our lives. Genuinely loved your videos even more. Take care!
I really respect your level of candidness on some of the topics you brought up in this video. I'm a relatively new sub, but your content introduced me to a whole new world of books and education, the kind I had never seen, nor wanted to see. I hope your return to school is as fulfilling as it seems from optimism!
Hey Evan thanks so much for the super kind words. I'm glad I was able to introduce you to a new world of books, I hope you continue to enjoy exploring!!
It's always interesting to hear about other people, and always nice to hear from people like you, John! I think you're very fortunate, and you seem hard-working too. But I feel that I sometimes forget that you, people that inspire me, are also humans. I'm sorry to hear that everything is not going smooth, but that's life, I feel like I'm not that alone though. Even though we're so different, I feel like everyone is a little bit "off" sometimes, and that's ok. I don't know where I'm going with this, I really hope it gets easier, or clearer from now on. Thanks for keep uploading!
John! I just wanna say thanks for your awesome videos and advice over the past 3 years of watching you. You were a huge part of me getting into Columbia! I start this Fall! Good luck with returning to Harvard!
Hi John. My situation is complicated, but I just wanna say I relate to the struggles you presented in this video a lot. I took a year long leave of absence during the pandemic coming out of sophomore year. I'm glad I did because I felt like I wasn't going to get the most out of my college experience over zoom, and I have a very complicated home situation that I knew long term would make thriving in school next to impossible. That home life is tribulating and extremely draining, even without the burden of school. I managed to work on a few passion projects and make some interesting connections, but sometimes this year I just felt like I was lost because of how different and complicated life has become. Many of my friends are now going into their senior years, and while I'm lucky they're still at the university at all, it's scary to think that they're all going to graduate before I do now. In a club I was really active in too, all the board members I'd gotten to know my first 2 years have just graduated and I didn't get to spend time with them during their last year either. I guess I just want to say that it's a reassuring perspective to know that someone else out there is dealing with similar circumstances and is trying to make the best of life, as messy as it is. I'm ecstatic to finally be going back for the fall semester and hopefully a chance of scenery from this past year and a half will help bring things into a better direction. Hope the same goes for you, best of luck. I'm looking forward to seeing what other videos you post moving forward!
Bro you were not immature. You did great!! You inspired so many of us. You did your best and gave attention to social media at the same time. Please man don’t be so hard on yourself. You are an inspiration to so many seeking to succeed from the inside and out! I applaud you for your values and courage to travel to another country for education. You my good sir I look up to and I will continue to support you. Trust me there are 1,000’s who follow you and growing into leaders and inspirational themselves. Bless you man 🙌📚📚📚😌
Best of luck John, I’m so proud and grateful for your channel. I have applied and learned from all of your techniques, thanks to you I’ve been preparing myself to study Actuary in my native country (Mexico), when I was about to enter college a corruption scandal broke the balance of the uni in which I was about to begin classes, I took the opportunity to grow some more and now I’m grateful because now my family is helping me to accomplish my goals and hopefully begin classes at ITAM (which is considered the one of the best private school in my country). Thanks for everything John, enjoy your last year in college; you are a great person and will become a great senior. Send you cheers from Mexico.
Congratulations on everything you’ve accomplished. I really felt like you’ve grown a lot. Your videos always gives me inspiration. Thank you so much and btw you look so happy in this video😊and I’m so happy for that.
Hi John, I just wanted to reach out and say what a tremendous comfort your videos and perspectives have been as your navigate the whirlwinds of early adulthood. As a Montrealer who is enrolled at Barnard (and can understand the experience of a Canadian attending an elite US institution) and who will be taking this year off of school for the very reasons you have described, I see so much of myself in you and wanted to thank you for the light you have been (and will continue to be). Sending mountains of love your way as you embark on your senior year!
Thank you so much for the kind words Eden!! It really means a lot to read messages like this. I hope that you have a wonderful year off and that you learn much about yourself and who you want to be.
Thanks for the transparency! I’ve been struggling with those high standards that I set to myself and feel like there is no other option for me. Im really excited to start College in person again in a few days to my final year💪🏻 Wish u the best !
Living in the now, is important. Planning too much for the future can just cause unnecessary stress because things don’t necessarily pan out as we expected.
Can I just say John, as someone who's followed you from the early days, it shows just how much you've grown. And your willingness to rebuild yourself and move forward is so inspiring. Good luck with everything!
I found you here through your "How to get into Harvard" video 4 years ago, and now we are here. When I ever feel demotivated, I come to your videos, it helps a lot. Thank you.
I’ve been watching your content since I was in undergrad (since you started your first year of Harvard!) , in a way I felt like I grew with you and you being super transparent has always been super helpful in my career. There’s no manual for higher education, and I know you’re helping so many people relax a little in their journey of life :) I am now earning my PhD, but without neglecting my relationships and mental health, thank you for sharing your life with us john ❤️
I resonate a lot. I’m in the same year of college as you at a public university. I left college around the same time as you did after two years because I wasn’t doing so well. And now I’ve also been away from college longer than I was there. I relate so much to what you’ve been going through. Yes life can be so messy and out of control. And these years growing from a teenager into an adult can be the most challenging and transforming. I feel like I’ve grown so much since I first entered college but I also have the same fears about the future. But like you said in this video, it’s important to cherish what we have in the moment and focus on living.
Thanks so much for posting this John. I'm heading into my third year of university this fall and I've been feeling inadequate this past year. The demanding finance recruiting cycle has really been grinding me down. It's reassuring to know that even a Harvard level student is feeling the same burnout that many students are.
5:10 - 5:40 In 2018 went back to my alma mater to pursue my second bachelor's in CS. I was surrounded by people who were 7 years younger. I was mortified, let it distract me. Now I can ignore all that and put my mind to it. Knowing that you're a talented and creative person, your mention on perfection reminds me to accept mistakes and make the most of it. Good luck in your final year. Mr. Fish.
Hey John. I've been a fan since 400k (like 1.5 years ago) and you've been a role model to me for a while. I was 13 & you made me realize that it's possible to be as productive and, more importantly, fulfilled as you were. You literally helped me get into the best school in my state, helping me study for its exam. Thank you so much for everything. (side note: I've struggled monumentally this past year as well)
I actually also took a year of school this year since I mentally couldn't go to school anymore. This year has been so rewarding to my health and I am actually looking forward going back to school recharged. Thank you for sharing this video! Love from Sweden /Ella
Thank you for this… I’ve felt so burnt out from doing online school and felt guilty that I wanted to enjoy this summer and not worry about an internship.
A few years ago i seen your videos from first year in Harvard and i freaked out how well organized, dedicated and smart you were. Im doing computer science engineering in Argentina, and i was not good at all, full of procastination and burned out all the time. I taken you as a model and thanks of you i started reading non-fiction books, from FLOW to a lot of other self development ones. I got obsessioned as you say in this video, in taking the perfect path, making the perfect decisions and working really hard. This particular year was so identical to me as for you, i broke a years relationship and dropped out college for 6 months. Now, after months of meditation and working on not being obsessioned with perfection or extreme productivity i feel so reflected with everything you said here. Im really glad that you shared you reality with us, so we can see that everybody is human and everybody struggle, is completly normal. Keep up!, i will come back to college tho. Thanks for your videos.
Amazing video. I couldn't relate more to the high stakes part. Sometimes it really is important to slow down and decide what you truly want rather than just following the 'plan'. Hope everyone finds the courage to do that. All the best, John 👍
Cheer up, you are not the only one who has gone through all those problems (here I am too, for example). Always keep in mind that you have the support of all your followers.
I've been watching your videos since when you entered Harvard, I can see that you've matured and pursued goals other than college, I think the books you've read opened your mind, good luck back at Harvard! A Big hug for you here in Brazil
For me things went pretty downhill from 2021 I didn't realize the reason right away. But I felt like at the start of 2020 I was so optimistic with everything that I over worked and mentally burned out! Hence 2021 just was a punch in my face now I just taking it slow one day at a time. I definitely agree with you john on the point of our optimism we just over did so many things at the beginnings. All the very best for your coming on campus journey!
I was a junior in high school when I subbed you, 15 years old basically an infant, now i have passed high school with distinction, and am giving my college entrance exam, its 47 days later and I guess this is the most unsure time of my life. Been watching you John, it was an enriching experience.
all the best! I have been watching your videos for the past 2 years and I'm finally going to university! (studying computer science :) at NUS) thank you!
Hey John. I’ve been here since we were both in grade 12, and funnily enough, looks like we’ll be heading into our final year of university together. Like you, I’ve had my fair share of setbacks, more than I can count - but we’re still going, so let’s kick some ass. Good luck, man!
Man you inspire me, i follow your work for two years and you show me how to a young man can fixit and organaized his life (im 22) i just started my carrer (biology) and you put me the college life in a way i can undestand it, you helping me to enjoy the lecture and make a daily shedule this help me so much, i know you dont know me but in this years i think i barely know you and you and you theachings, we are from two different words i live in Medellin and my economy its bas, but i can feel we have a lot in common, this comment its just for say thank you men you and you videos help me so much (sorry for my bad english i hope you can udersteand this dead leguague i just invented)
excited for you to go back! i had to take a gap year during the pandemic because of health reasons but i’m excited (but nervous) to go back to campus next month
Thank you so much for making this video. I’m tracking into the same problem you mentioned like having really high stakes and chasing for the Aplus. Your words are pretty helpful
i took a gap year, and now i’m headed to law school. i feel so grown and understanding of what the world really is. it’s the best decision ever and you helped break the stigma to take the leap for me :)
Taking an extra year to mature and find (and be sure) that I am still passionate about what I was learning and putting my all into was the most important moment in my life. I truly went into school again with a newfound joy and eagerness to learn and develop as a professional. I am just fresh out of university (graduated in June) and my passion and eagerness got me into my dream job! Everything started to fall into place when I stopped chasing it, and that was a lesson I could not learn in a classroom.
I am going to BC this fall. So interesting to hear about your experiences. Also weird to think that we'll be in college a few miles apart at the same time (idk why, I guess I always regarded you as a wise old man lol). Good luck with your senior year!
AHHHHHHHH hi!!!! I've nothing beautifully introspective to write, but your video reminded me that I'll be starting my Freshman year at Harvard in *two weeks*! I, too, will be concentrating in Computer Science. If Harvard is full of people like you, I'm sure I'll enjoy my time. :)
I started watching your RU-vid channel and you inspired me to finish my UCLA College degrees ! It’s truly sad that your journey at Harvard was interrupted 🧑🏻💻I liked watching you make your tea and study 📚
