When I was in tenth grade, I was juggling A Levels and the provincial stage of the national physics olympiad.
I knew my cognitive limits. I knew I couldn’t be great at both in such a short time, and I’d rather nail the physics olympiad than maximizing my grade in the physics A Levels (yes, they were, apparently, not the same material...) so I prioritized learning for the olympiad instead.
But making this decision was a privilege.
I grew up in Jakarta, a city where the whole socioeconomic spectrum coexists. I had school books to learn from. My family had a car that got me to school. I had a lunch box prepared for me every day, so I got the nutrients I needed to study well. I was privileged enough to worry about the next exam while many others worried about how they would afford food for the day.
To someone out there, either of my options would have been ideal, because the choices they have have nothing to do with education - they are about surviving the day.
A couple months ago, I watched Alexandr Wang’s interview with Shawn Ryan. Wang talked about his journey, and for each time frame he had endured, he highlighted how he mainly focused on one thing, be it physics, maths, or computer science.
He was right. When you’re so focused on one thing, you get really good at it, which in turn makes you more likely to succeed in the thing you are so heads down on.
At the same time, hyperfocus is a privilege. Some people can’t afford to focus on just one thing; they need to feed their brother, take care of their sick mother, and keep their grades up to hold on to their scholarship.
And, no, I am not saying Wang is wrong, or that he is ignorant; everyone has faced something, and Wang has most likely gone through terrible situations to reach where he is now.
I’ve just come to realize that not many figures have emphasized the practice of staying grateful and knowing your privileges. It’s not about being complacent, nor is it about diminishing what you have achieved; it’s about acknowledging and accepting every path you have walked, ideal or not, because the choices you deemed suboptimal might be the best option someone else ever gets.
What we call struggles might be blessings to them, and we must be grateful for what we have.
Use the privilege you have for good.
Somewhere out there, someone is just trying to make it through the day. Remember them, and help them if you can.