Advice for a young student?

Hey everyone. I’m new to WSO but I’m so glad I found it. Lots of great information and insights on the finance industry as a whole.

Anyways, I’m currently 19, attending my 2nd year at community college. I’m trying to kick ass in all my classes to get the best possible grades to get into the best school I can get into. My goal is to into private equity after college and eventually get my MBA from a top program. Some of my questions are: What advice you would give to a kid like me in my current position? Should I start teaching myself finance since there’s of course no courses here at CC? How should I position myself to succeed? Should I start reading finance textbooks? (I’ve already started taking some online course with NYU professor Aswath Damodaran) What habits should I start developing that may help me along the way? Any and all advice, especially from those who’ve gone to CC and broken into the industry, is greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance!