These days, I feel like I'm perpetually stuck under a mountain of homework. A million pages of reading for this class, a 900-page paper for that class, studying for a test that covers 83 chapters. Those are obviously exaggerations, but it sure feels real sometimes.
I know many of you, like myself, are over-achievers. We do everything required of us plus a little extra for good measure. When given a reading assignment, we read it thoroughly and maybe Google some discussion questions on the text to better familiarize ourselves with what we're reading. When given a paper assignment, we exceed the word count by at least a thousand, cite at least one more source than required, and probably don't say no when classmates ask us to edit their papers. We're also involved in clubs and committees, we're on good terms with our professors, and we spend a good portion of our weekends in the library.
I know I'm an over-achiever, but I also know others who are over-over-achievers, and honestly, I don't know how they do it. They must be superhumans who don't need sleep.
If you're an overachiever, you probably suffer from some amount of stress/guilt. You have no time to go to dinner with your aunt because you have a project to work on. You can't call your mom because you have a meeting and then another meeting right after. You prioritize and sacrifice things in your social and emotional life so you can succeed in your academic life. It can get a little out of control sometimes, but when you're wired like us, it's just the way it is.
Some of us are scared of failure. Some are scared of embarrassment. We've created this academically superior reputation for ourselves; if we start slacking, people are bound to notice. Some of us have an issue with perfection. Some of us have to keep our scholarship. Some of us can't disappoint our parents. Some of us want to go to grad school. There are a million excuses.
I'd love to tell you that grades don't matter and school is just an experience, but you probably wouldn't believe me. I could even reference Steve Jobs and Rachel Ray, but you'd probably still think of an excuse to continue working so hard. And school does matter, and grades are important. For some people.
It all depends on you. If you want to dedicate these four years to achieving academic success through hours and hours of study sessions and club meetings, go for it. Over-achieving is a great skill to have and you will probably go very far in life. Use your over-achiever identity to your advantage. Get promoted in a future job, solve some problems, do good, be great.
But, if you're not an academic over-achiever, that's okay too. If your destiny is to drop out and backpack through Europe or dedicate your life to teaching kids ultimate frisbee, then go for it! Live your best life. There are so many unspoken rules we are unconsciously bound by: I have to go to school, I have to be a so-and-so major, I have to get straight A's, I have to get a job right our of college and get married and settle down and start a family. Wrong! You don't have to do any of that if you don't want to. And if you do want that life, then go get it!
Your life is now. Ask yourself what you really, truly want out of life, then live it. Good luck.
