Here is my “story” which greatly influences why these things are important to me. (I really don’t like talking about myself, so I need to point out that I don’t think there is any added value for anyone to read this.)

Sixth grade in elementary school: I don’t have any friends because then I’m not a very nice person and I feel relatively miserable. Thanks to the feedback, I realize that I treat people badly, I start working on it and gradually I feel more satisfied. The fundamental turning point for me then occurred in the eighth/ninth grade, when I came across chemistry through the Chemistry Olympiad. I found something that I really enjoyed, spent lot of time studying it became “good” at it, and thus I picked up confidence and began to feel even better. Another major turning point for me came a year after I took part in the Mensa Seminar and the Chemistry Olympiad camps, where I felt for the first time like I belonged somewhere and I found my first friends there, with whom I am still in touch today.

Over the course of five years, I went from feeling miserable, telling myself that no one likes me, to being relatively content and having a group of people to belong to. For this, my infinite thanks go to the organizers of the Chemistry Olympiad and to the other people who helped me get into this community.

For the rest of high school, I devoted myself “fully” to chemistry, which I really enjoyed. It was the kind of thing I studied until three in the morning without realizing it. In the Chemistry Olympiad, I collected a couple of medals from the international round, which helped me get into Cambridge despite really terrible grades at school.

Studying at Cambridge has been my “dream” since I was fifteen. But in April 2022, I realized that for the past few years I have been feeling miserable and not wanting to do anything at all. I was quite surprised when I realised that because I was in the situation I wanted to be in after all. I had the opportunity to study something that I really enjoyed in high school. So what’s wrong?

I realized that my (dis)satisfaction stems more from my mindsets rather than my environment and I realized that I have a lot of unhelpful mindsets that are ruining my life. I got therapy, spent tons of time introspecting, journaling, doing things I enjoy and I feel so much better.

Feeling miserable despite being where I wanted to be (and in an objectively great place) showed me how important mindsets are. Because I have a lot of people around me who I really like and have similar problems, it is important for me to share thoughts that have helped me to feel better.