By Phoebe Strickland, Flawless High School Intern
This past July, I had the opportunity to attend Yale Young Global Scholars, a two-week academic program on Yale’s campus that brings together high school Juniors and Seniors from over 100 countries to learn and engage with some of the world’s most pressing challenges. I went in expecting to leave with new knowledge and inspiration for the college application process. What I did not expect was to leave with a lesson about myself and my mental health.
The Initial Pull
Even though I had planned to immerse myself in the experience at Yale, I was still plagued by the pressure of college applications. The words draft, essay, due date, counselor meeting, and expectations ran through my head constantly. I had spent weeks struggling at home to write anything, so I had told myself to take being at Yale as motivation to truly “lock in.”
After a long day of lectures, seminars, and well over 15,000 steps, I would get into bed and attempt to write. Late into the night, my face was illuminated by my computer screen, and again early in the morning. However, one call from my parents on Friday was all it took for me to break down.
The tears came, and the stress, lack of sleep, lack of breakfast, and opposing pressures of friends vs. achievement finally hit me.
While my schedule looked productive on paper, it wasn’t sustainable or healthy for me and didn’t prioritize what was truly important. Even though I spent all that time “writing,” most of it was spent staring at the screen, exhausted and begging for some inspiration to hit me. So that next Saturday, when a girl I met on the way home from a breakout discussion strongly encouraged me to join her in the courtyard to hang out with some new students, I didn’t oppose it.
The Shift
Fifteen minutes there sent all of my excuses that “I met enough new people during the day” and “I already was so bonded with my roommates” toppling down. Even those 15 minutes I spent talking, laughing, and saying, “Hi, I’m Phoebe, I’m from Connecticut, where are you from?” about a million times, revived me more than 15 minutes staring at my computer ever could.
Then the biggest surprise came when I returned to my dorm for curfew, opened up my computer to write, and the words finally came to me.
And another word glowed even brighter in my mind: balance.
I have studied the importance of balance. I knew from research that relationships benefit your happiness far more than any material accomplishment ever could. However, still, when it came to my own life, I had struggled to prioritize it.
Even now, two weeks later, I don’t regret any of my decisions because I learned a very valuable lesson.
I learned that balance is not something you can just decide you have and keep forever. It is something you have to choose, sometimes over and over again, even when achievement feels louder than anything else. Because this is your life, and your happiness and well being should come first. Balance is not just productivity or friends; it is rest, connection, and showing up for yourself the same way you show up for everything else.
Especially as someone going into college, this experience made me rethink what the future truly holds, not just for me, but for anyone navigating the pressure of achievement. Because even if you don’t end up exactly where you planned, you will find friends, inspiration, laughter, and challenges. And you will make the most of it in the balance you choose to create.
Global Connectedness
A favorite part of my experience was not the hour-long lectures, but the people I met. I connected with students from over 100 countries, and what I expected to feel like distance between us simply was not there. Despite our varied backgrounds, our conversations flowed easily, our ideas connected naturally, and our laughter felt universal.
People shared unique experiences from their home country’s culture, government and for some, journeys to citizenship. I learned the most from the students. And much of that knowledge came from making the first hello or sitting down ready for a conversation on a bench.
I am the most grateful for all of the people I met and the lessons they taught me. I learned that the world is vast yet incredibly small, and that social connection is possible anywhere.
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