This is based on a song by the same name. You should go look it up on Youtube - it brings up a really good point and it's just another great song! :)
The fear of failure is something that always plagues his mind. Whether he is dreaming or he is sleeping, it is always there, crawling through the crevices of his mind with haunting whispers and cruel cackles.
Kiku Honda cannot - does not, should not, will not- sleep. Textbooks are spread on his desk, unfinished notes and assignments and blank pages crinkling under his clenching hands. The LED lights flicker and blur in front of his exhausted eyes. 03:45
He is so tired, but he cannot sleep. He needs to work. He cannot fail. He has to be perfect because that is what society wants. What his family wants. What his friends want.
He isn't sure if it's what he wants.
But it's okay, he thinks, his aching hand gripping the pencil once again.
If they're happy, he'll be happy. Eventually.
He tells himself that but then the ache of not being good enough starts again and he feels worthless all over again.
The sun rises and his work is still unfinished, crumpled papers scattered across his desk. The feeling of defeat and despair sinks through his thin skin, into his heart, wrapping its icy tendrils around him and capturing him within the murky depths.
His parents hadn't moved to America for him to slack off.
He needs to work.
He needs to be perfect.
He needs to do it right.
If you do that, everything will be okay.
So he writes.