Sunday, April 25, 2010

Credit Where Credit Is Due

In a competitive society where excellence is not enough to excel, it is driven into students' heads that they will not get into a good college, get a good job, or be financially secure unless they are the very best. Students are constantly searching for new "hooks" that will make them stand out to potential colleges and employers, and attempt to sharpen a single skill in hopes of getting a scholarship, though it was once more recommendable to try and be well-rounded.

Somehow, as this mindset took over, students began to minimize their accomplishments to the point where even their greatest achievements were lost to the statement, "Well, someone else did better." However, while successes lost their meaning, failures became more shameful than ever, and every less-than-perfect grade was met with fruitless attempts to make up those last few points with extra credit. And then, students began to lose sight of their greatest talents, once again because "someone else can do it better", and began putting themselves down because the overwhelming opinion of society was that they weren't good enough, or so they thought.

When did it become acceptable to tell yourself that your talent is meaningless? Take pride in yourself; we are students in a changing world, yet we have adapted to the rise of technology and competition flawlessly, while still honoring artists and authors and athletes. Stop putting yourself down, and give yourself a little bit of credit- you deserve it.

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