I hate word counts

Every single time I write an essay, I spend so much time meticulously crafting it and turning it into something I'm proud of without worrying about the word count. After I'm done and it's time to start editing it, I spend so much time trimming it down to fit that 250-word count. It feels like I'm slowly choking it and squeezing the life out of it. I hate it. Like I'm taking my essay that I'm really proud of and cutting it down so it's just mediocre now. Kills my soul every time.