I'm 16, and I already feel like I wasted a lot of time.
I apologise for any spelling mistakes in advance, for English is not my first language.
Anyway, I'll (16m) soon be graduating high school, stepping into adult life. While for many of my peers this is an age of radical change, opportunity, hard work, for me — all I feel is emptiness. The last few years were spent in abyss of depression, which is why I mostly focused on maximising my immediate pleasure over long-term benefit, that is - spending time doing my hobbies rather than studying. I gave the bare minimum, sometimes even less, my grades took a dive, and I cared little for that. Back then, I thought I wouldn't make it to 16.
But here I am, and now I am forced to live with the consequences of my decisions. Looking back at what I've learnt I see nothing coherent — hell, I bet I wouldn't be able to recall what I learnt last week. With that, I have realised that I have no academic skills, low grades, and a lot to catch up on. Although I feel like it's too late already. Too much time's been lost, wasted on quick pleasure over happiness, and now I feel lost. I'm graduating in one year, which is really little time to catch up on YEARS of missed material. Please, people of Reddit, I really need advice. Is it already too late? And if not, what should I do to maximise results - does it mean working without breaks and holidays?
For context: I do not live in the US and you get forcefully drafted here at 18 (unless you study at a university).