I had a very bad childhood. My father was abusive, and I got away from him to go to college. I finally parted ways with him after he kept using his financial power to keep trying to have a hold on me.

I was left in a state where I had to pay for college by myself. I wanted to live my ambitions and dreams, and I wanted a fulfilling life.

For the past 2.5 years I've worked 3 jobs(two on campus tutoring jobs, and a research assistant). Used every waking moment I had to study and push myself. Petitioned to get into honors physics classes, did well, got strong research experience in my condensed matter physics lab, and now I finally have a break.

And oh my god I'm exhausted. I graduate in December but now I can relax a bit. I got a lot of scholarships for my research and now I don't have to worry about things financially and can let go of my two tutoring jobs. My last semester consists of three gen ends, one physics class, and prepping my research which is a lot easier than the courseload I had these past two two years.

The amount of stress was huge this past few years. I didn't even know if I could pay next months rent let alone pay for tuition each semester, but it's finally the end. The exhaustion hit me like a wall today and now it's my summer vacation(did research all this past summer) and now I can finally relax and be happy that I really gave it my all.