edits/ opinions on my essay?

(background) i dropped out of college last semester and worked full time/enrolled in cosmetology school, but quickly realized i wanted to finish my degree. weighted gpa of 3.0 and top school is CU Boulder

I am a college dropout. I walked away from my freshman year 4 months ago, when it finally clicked that I had been treating higher education as a passive obligation rather than an active choice. I realized I had been suffocating for years under academic pressure and burnout, and eventually made the decision to withdraw from my classes. At the time, stepping away felt like admitting defeat. I spent years being taught that success meant continuing to forge ahead, and suddenly I had chosen the opposite. I struggled to shake the feeling that I had failed myself, so I pulled away from an academic environment and used that time to pursue more tangible experiences to figure out what I wanted from life.
I began working full time and enrolled in a vocational school. Time away from my degree taught me a kind of self-discipline I had never developed, as I had never been required to be anything other than compliant with another party's expectations. I suddenly had to create structure for myself. I learned to manage my energy, plan out my days on color coded calendars, and show up consistently even when I had that familiar feeling of exhaustion. These experiences showed me how much I had missed college, and that what previously happened didn't have to define my relationship with education. I never stopped wanting an education; I just needed to step away and develop the maturity necessary to succeed.
In school, my definition of success became unhealthy. I believed to be successful was to never stop, and eventually, I wore myself down until I could no longer keep up. This philosophy had followed me all the way from high school to college. It took me many courses, credits, and withdrawals to realize that I had spent the last year of my life sitting in lecture halls, mentally incapable of internalizing the information being fed to me. I learned that the independence of school requires a sustainable foundation, not just stamina or the intense pace I was formerly used to. Instead of the stress I once associated with schooling, my time away taught me that devotion doesn't mean pushing myself past my limits. It means understanding what I can realistically maintain and taking responsibility for following through.
I remember waking up at 5 a.m. every day for work, knowing that I still had cleaning, cooking, and assignments waiting for me afterward. A year ago, I would have drowned. Instead, I went to work, came home, and did what needed to be done. There was no one to hold me to the things that I had promised myself. No professor reminding me of deadlines, no parent looming over my shoulder, and no one who could make me keep the promises I had made. If I wanted something done, I was going to have to be the one to do it. After years of telling myself “tomorrow” and relying on the reminders of those around me, I found that my success wasn't their responsibility. It was mine. I came to understand that my mistakes were things I had made, not things I had to let define me.
Ultimately, I decided to return to school. It took time away for me to realize that I wasn't pursuing a degree because it was the next step, or because I felt like I should. I am pursuing it intentionally. My transcripts reflect the things that I was, rather than who I became. I am prepared for a second chance, not by ignoring my past mistakes, but by learning from them and building the foundation I need to finish what I started. I’m not returning because I feel I deserve to forget what happened. I am returning because I finally know why it happened, and what I need to change. I once saw college as a requirement; now I see it as an opportunity.