You buy a car today, and you have to consistently fuel it and oil its engine. You get clothes, and you have to wash them consecutively. When it comes to love, too, it is subconsciously present. If you beg to be loved, you'll always find out you'll have to beg quite often to keep the love going. If you get love via monetary worth, you'd have to continue to finance it to keep it afloat. But then there's the non-intensive one that's just purely based on love; its price still happens to be romantic gestures and reassurances.

This concept reminds me of the ancient Greek idea of hubris I happened to encounter a while ago. In Greek tragedy, hubris referred to the excessive pride or arrogance that often led to a hero's downfall. However, in a broader sense, hubris can also be seen as the failure to recognize the inherent costs or consequences of one's actions. In the context of this writing, hubris would be the tendency to ignore or neglect the "subscription rates" or upkeep required in various aspects of life.

Bottom line: when it comes to whatsoever it is that you want to get, acquire, or delve into—academics inclusive—always look out for the subscription rate or perhaps the concurrent exchange rate in the long term. By acknowledging and accepting these costs, it gets easier to make more informed decisions, cultivate healthier relationships, and avoid the pitfalls of hubris.