My hands shook as I took the envelope from my teacher. This envelope was encasing the most important thing in my life right now - my grades.
My other hand reached towards the flap as I was about to open it, but before I could take a peek at my grades, my friend came crying to me:
"My grades are so bad. My parents are going to be disappointed in me." She sniffled.
"Awh. It's gonna be alright." I hugged her, comforting her.
The truth is, it is going to be more than alright. It's going to be fantastic - for me. I opened my envelope which basically told me how successful my future would be. What universities I would get into.
Every. Single. Grade. Better than hers. I beat her, finally. All of those sleepless nights, all of those times I broke down because of burnout, all of the times I was so close to snapping, to giving up, all of the times I pushed my self past my limit - all of it was worth it. Every time I failed a test, she would smile and say "better luck next time!", but this time, it was my turn. I had won, and this time, there was no better luck next time.