I only get random bouts of perfectionism (like at Christmas!) and find it so mentally draining, I don't know how actual perfectionists keep it up! Glad you were able to recognize the benefits of letting go of it where possible with age. I knew a girl in high school who was the straight A student, had a million after school activities, sports, etc., and the poor thing was so clearly overloaded with stress. She missed out being valedictorian by a hair to a friend of mine, by some weird blip of the Gods (my friend was also a straight A overachieving clever clogs but somehow less stressed about it all/had a life outside school). I just remember feeling bad for this girl, alongside the happiness for my friend. It was so clearly something she had presumed would be hers if she just worked hard enough, she sacrificed a lot of the other things that make teenage-hood fun (maybe it was just her personality but I always wondered if this experience made her loosen up any or if she just doubled down in college). As you say it really isn't healthy or sustainable in the long run. I go too far in the opposite direction, last minute chaos queen getting things in by the skin of my teeth throughout school definitely didn't set me up well either!