THE PEAK

If life was one big mountain, the ideal goal would obviously be to ascend the mountain,
reach the top, take a glorious photo, enjoy the view, and carefully descend to tell the story to
other people. Compared to the rest of the Gen Z population, my mental health is seemingly even
stronger than the mountain. However, not having everything I want right now is extremely
discouraging.
Despite having a very successful high school career, I certainly did not peak in high
school. Fortunately, high school isn’t forever. Unfortunately, my least favorite thing is change.
During 5th grade, I was anxious about going to middle school. During 8th grade, I was anxious
about going to high school. During my senior year, I was anxious about going to college. I get
comfortable with where I am at and truly detest change, no matter how big or small. Even with
things as trivial as the changes that come in a new season of a TV show, I still tend to get
anxious.
So naturally, as Fall rolled in, so did the start of my college career, and so did a slew of
new anxieties. The main thing I was and am still worried about is my future. To be completely
frank, I am not even sure if my major is right for me. Don’t get me wrong, I love my major, but
there is always a little F.O.M.O. (fear of missing out) that there is something that I would love
even more that I have no clue about. Maybe I climb the mountain and reach the peak only to see
a higher mountain in the distance that I had no clue was there. I work day in and day out making
goal charts and to do lists in the aspiration of reaching the peak. My notes app is absolute artistic
chaos and is truly arcane to someone taking a quick glance at it. I put my 100% effort into
everything that I do, keeping not a set goal, but the idea itself of peaking in mind.

I hope that I will not be peaking anytime soon. Certainly, I hope that I have not peaked
already. Now, the ladder is not true, but working for a future that I know nothing about is tiring. I
know that when I do reach the top, I will be proud of the things that I am doing now and happy
that I tried so hard. I also believe that I will regret thinking too much about my future. Although
my future is something I relish worrying about, worrying about it too much could end up being
my biggest downfall. The obvious flaw in constantly focusing on the future, is not having time to
focus on the present. I have definitely missed out on a lot of cool opportunities in lieu of my
future.
As this fall season starts, I would like to recognize that peaking isn’t everything. Sure, I
could be a workaholic for the rest of my life, but I would rather sacrifice a little bit of my future
and willingly climb the slightly smaller mountain so that I can work hard, but also play hard and
spend quality time with the ones that I love. There always feels like there is more that I should be
doing throughout my day to get closer to the peak, but “all you can do is all you can do”. As the
seasons change, maybe my perspective on what living is will change too, because: life starts all
over again when it gets crisp in the fall.

About the Author

Charlie Scriven-Young is a freshman majoring in Film and Television