i got good marks, got into a good college and two years in was suicidal and borderline alcoholic. the system ruins you if you do, ruins you if you don’t. if you got your marks today: take a deep breath. absorb what happened. make a game plan for next steps.

you’re young enough to feel like you have the luxury of wallowing when you actually don’t. sit down, make a list of all your options, start eliminating. a lot of people around you will be so smug with their success now they’ll not plan what’s next. you need to start _now_.

figure out what the handicap is. average institution? chase internships and mentors. subject not what you wanted? there’s a world of resources. skill up. feels like everyone left you in the dust? it’s fine. get up, brush yourself off, get back on the ground.

write. write as much as you can, about whatever you’re passionate about. build a brand around yourself. sell yourself, because that’s all you have to sell. no one has preconceived notions about you because of a name saddling you down. write your own narrative.

take a month to feel sad. we’re living in a hellscape and you have to champion yourself however you can. everyone else gets few years before they have to start doing it. you will have to choose to start now. what happens to you matters less than how you respond to it. know this.

institutions and names do make things easier. this is an unfair fact of life. but also remember that this is just the first step. there’s a whole marathon ahead. you can make up for this easily if you pace yourself and bring clarity to yourself.

I ask my interns to do this the day they join and I’ll ask you too: in the short time you have right now, sit down and build out 10 key performance indicators for yourself. Health? Internships? Your own startup? Whatever it is. Write it down and ask yourself: how can I do this?

Go back to this every 6 months. You will see your priorities shift. That’s normal. You will also feel demotivated because you’re goals are ambitious and need hard work. It’s fine. Focus and just keep at it. Hard work is like water. It chips away at the hardest obstacles.

You’re going to be okay. I promise. Today is not the end of the world. It’s the start of it. You’re allowed to write your own story.