If I could change one thing about my high school career, it would be to not be a Perfectionist Procrastinator.

It might not seem all that bad, but let’s take my most latest installment in my Perfectionist Procrastination saga. I am five days late to write this senior reflection. FIVE. And this is all because I couldn’t think of the “perfect” concept to write it on.

If I’ve learned anything in my long years (and long nights) at Algonquin, it would be that the Perfectionist Procrastinator is unsustainable. It leads to lost sleep (shout out to my post-4 a.m. nights) and dissatisfaction because you somehow never start your work with enough time to actually make it what you want. Maybe you can do it for a few months, a year, longer, but after that, you will explode or implode — neither of which is actually any good for your work or your health.

If you find yourself relating a bit too much to the title Perfectionist Procrastinator, it’s not too late (hopefully). Although it’s daunting, I’ve found that the procrastination aspect of this struggle is the easier part of it. Perfectionism is a hard habit to break. It’s all about changing the way you think which at times can feel impossible. It will be hard, but I promise it’ll be worth it.

Procrastination only pushes your problems onto your future self and I can tell you that as the “future self” in this situation, I do not appreciate it very much at all.

Perfectionism is a thief. It steals your time, hours of your life wasted fixing something over and over that other people will probably only glance at. It steals your happiness when you’re always disappointed in the final outcome because it’s not just right.

I’m now a recovering Perfectionist Procrastinator. Yes, yes I know this reflection is not a good example of recovery, but I promise you I’m working on it. I’m starting things earlier and enlisting other people to help hold me accountable. Most importantly though, I’m accepting that not everything is perfect. Will I look at this reflection in print and wish I’d worded something differently? Almost definitely. Is it going to be the end of the world? No. And that’s okay. I promise you that it doesn’t have to be perfect, because it never will be. Stop reaching for some unattainable goal and start living instead.