[daniel-thompson]

When I was in high school I could ace most of it without studying at all. I thought it was great at the time, but the shitty part - only apparent later - was that I failed to develop good study habits.

When I started at university in a technical major, it was a real kick in the teeth. The material was substantially more difficult, but the hardest part for me - and the biggest piece of learning - was the realization that I had to study consistently and be purposeful about managing my time in a way I never really had to before I got there.

My grades freshman year were abysmal. But they also helped me internalize that I needed to buckle down and put in the work. I'm glad that that happened in a relatively forgiving environment like school, instead of in the workplace.