Everywhere but Where It Mattered

Only my boyfriend, my closest friends, and my family knew about my second failure. I let my BFF know that I would be less available, to focus on my bachelor's. She said, "And then what? Being less available to do something that matters to you is fine." Honestly, for the first few weeks, it was hard to stay away from social events or social media. I stopped traveling back to my country for birthday parties. I could only go for big events, like weddings or bachelorette parties. I missed so many events, and I was really sad not to be tagged in the pictures posted online. I wasn't part of the event—or, worse, I was tagged even though I hadn't attended. Some people started to worry that I had stopped posting or calling them during the week. Only a few had my landline, for emergencies. Most of the time, my phone was on silent. The previous year, I'd had a bad reputation as a teammate when it came to group work. This year, I decided to take the lead and plan the group video calls. I picked the ones with the best grades, because I knew they would challenge me and keep me from being lazy or doing my work superficially. My grades improved drastically, because—don't get me wrong—I wasn't the smartest, but I was one of the smart ones! I'm strategic and creative (proof: echoedlives.com, lol). I can find ten solutions to one problem. I just need to be in good condition and let my brain focus on what matters. My relationship with my boyfriend was better, as he could see the improvements I'd made. With the university teachers, the relationship was better year over year, because they finally saw the real me: a dedicated student. The only drawback was with some of the people I thought were my friends. They didn't understand why I talked less about my personal life. They didn't understand that talking about who got fat, criticizing a picture, or getting involved in the next drama wasn't for me anymore. Some were upset that I would miss their birthday or our weekly call. Some said I'd changed and didn't want to make time for them, while others planned in advance to see me and share a precious moment together. To be honest, I missed some of my friends. Not all of them.