There’s no shame in being “slower” than others…
I was speaking to someone who is working full-time and going to school part-time and she was feeling self-conscious about only taking 1 class a semester.
She felt most of her classmates were taking 2 and that by only taking 1 it would take her a lot longer to finish the program and that was sort of embarrassing.
And I told her, listen you have to be self-aware about what you can and can’t do.
We all have limits as humans.
Taking 2 classes would let you finish the program sooner, but how is your mental health going to be in the process?
If taking 2 classes would severely exhaust you and make it so you wouldn’t have much free time, then what’s the point?
You’re going to be miserable, you’re not going to have much free time, and that exhaustion is going to affect other aspects of your life.
Thus, learning what things to say no to is often just as important as learning what things to say yes to.
There’s no shame in going slower than the “status quo” for your own mental health.
Comparing your situation to someone else’s or what “most people are doing” is stupid.
We all have different starting points, different means, different life events happen to us, different family situations, and overall just different needs for our own life.
Do as much as you can where you’re still able to enjoy life, and just be proud of yourself.
You’re working hard and doing what you can. That’s all you can ask from yourself.