[orbifold]

It is ok to feel lost and overwhelmed from time to time. Even the most brilliant people often go through hardships and difficult times. Try to find things to do that you enjoy not because other people expect them of you. External validation can be nice but also a burden. Set your own goals and try to check from time to time how much progress you have made to accomplish them. For me at the moment, this is to publish a bunch of good papers at ML conferences and land a permanent research position. But this can literally be any other goal and I don’t think it is helpful to compare yourself to others, too much. Opportunities will come to you if you are doing good work.

[aydwi]

Appreciate the kind response. It's true that I get unexpectedly overwhelmed by life at times. Hope to gain more maturity as I progress. Thank you!