Describe a period of time from your studies that was the most difficult for you so far

I’d like to talk about the final semester of my undergraduate degree in architecture at the University of Manchester, which was, quite honestly, the most gruelling period of my academic life. It was about three years ago, during the lead-up to our final design thesis project. At that time, I was juggling the completion of a complex urban planning model with a series of rigorous technical reports on structural engineering. The sheer volume of work was relentless, and I was spending upwards of fourteen hours a day in the studio, often surviving on little more than vending machine coffee and sheer willpower. The difficulty stemmed from the immense pressure of the deadline combined with a complete lack of sleep. I found myself hitting a wall where my creative energy was entirely depleted, and I began to doubt whether I had chosen the right career path. Every critique from my tutors felt like a personal failure, and the mounting stress began to manifest physically, as I developed persistent headaches and a constant state of anxiety. It was hard not just because of the academic workload, but because the stakes felt so high; my entire future in the industry felt like it hinged on that single project. Looking back, that period was transformative because it taught me how to manage burnout and forced me to develop a more disciplined approach to my work, even if, at the time, it felt like I was barely keeping my head above water.