College Process Breeds Stress and Competition Among Peers and Sexes
By Tatiana Gonzalez '09
News Reporter
Everybody’s first day of Kindergarten was exhilarating. We were placed in a peculiar room with a bunch of new kids; little did we know that they were going to become our life-long competition. At first we were asked to draw pictures and take naps. As the years passed, school progressively became harder and the fight against our peers and ourselves began.
Throughout our entire educational career, our parents have demanded straight A’s. In our earlier years, it was just a general understanding but as we became older our parents began to vocalize their expectations. If we do not receive an A, they bombard us with questions. After this order is established, A’s become the norm and no deviation is allowed; in fact in our parents mind it’s not even a possibility. Since this expectation becomes the norm, we no longer get praised for our work when in fact the workload only becomes more challenging. All of a sudden parents become concerned if their child receives an A-.
While maintaining their grades, students are also required to participate in extra curricular activities. They need to begin to accumulate an impressive resume for their college applications but at the same time they are not allowed to deteriorate in their efforts for schoolwork. They have to learn to balance everything and at the same time outreach their peers. A students needs to have the “complete package”.
When we are faced with a challenge concerning our schedules, we are usually told to get organized or to find some other solutions. Why are we never given the advice to drop a course or an activity? Once again, the answer is college. We need to be able to keep up with life and show colleges how much we can juggle at one time.
Boys have an edge that makes them more appealing to schools. For girls, the competition is fiercer. More girls apply to college so the odds of getting accepted into their top school are lower than those for the boys. Although this is a small figure, this creates more stress among girls. Although boys have to work hard, girls have to work harder. They have to become the the embodiment of perfect student and even more. Usually perfect is defined as intelligent, charming, unique, hard working and lacking in sleep.
Girls have to measure up and stand out in their own way. What was impressive ten years ago is no longer impressive, but rather has become an everyday activity. Because of this girls have to push into new limits to discover other spectacular aspects of what they have to offer a school. Since not attending college is not an option, girls try, try and keep trying to find something new. All this competition keeps us on our toes and we begin to forget about allowing ourselves to relax. Whether we are at home, school, or work we find ourselves saying, “ I’ll relax when I finish this project, class or shift” but in reality it never ends. We go from one activity to the next with out even thinking about it. Relaxation is far from the top priority on our lists.
Every girl gets pressured into a situation where she feels like she has to conquer the world so that they can get into college. If her parents did not drill it into her head as a little girl then her friends influence them. During that one week of the years, it feels like the whole world is waiting to see whether this female applicant got accepted or not.
But the truth of the matter is why does it matter so much? It is true that it is important to get in somewhere but if a student really wants to do something with their life they will do it. Somehow they will find a way to make it work. The name of the school that a student attends in the fall should not define who they are or what they are capable of. A student is not better if (s)he go to Harvard instead of a community college. Ambition is what defines a student. If a student has a goal such as becoming top lawyer in America or the best architect in the world, they should not let the school that they are attending define their success. The girls are the ones that are in charge of their lives so why does it matter what college they go to? Why should they deprive themselves of valuable sleep? Yes, the better of a school that the student attends the easier it will be for the student to reach their goal but why does a rejection letter have to alter the original dream? The answer is it shouldn’t. So we should relax, catch up on sleep and cross our fingers.
