Some students will do anything to be perfect: they train for hours to be the best at their sport, they study through the night to pass an upcoming test, and they fill their resumés with any activity that “looks good” to schools.
Although a majority of high-school students think that the more things they are involved in the more they appeal to colleges, the extra worry is not necessary, and a perfectionist’s efforts are wasted because real perfection can never be achieved.
High-schoolers today are pushed to their absolute limit by parents, teachers, and even themselves to impress some higher authority. For example, parents pressure kids to get good grades with the threat of punishment. Because of this outside influence, students feel that if they don’t get the best grade, they have “failed.” Because of this they push themselves to do better next time, forcing themselves to leave no room for error.
Obviously, self-motivation is a good thing––mainly because it helps people reach goals later in life––but obsessively studying for hours on end and freaking out about the results isn’t going to have an impact on real life or pursuing a career.
Before finals, a student I know actually asked her family to leave her alone in the house in order for her to have optimal conditions for studying. Throughout the whole weekend, this person studied with minimal breaks just to make sure she got an A in every class.
People like this only add stress to their lives. The over-studiers and the students who haggle teachers for that one point to bring their grade up should just relax a little: one A- won’t have that bad of an impact.
Even in athletics, students too often have the desire for perfection. By joining athletic clubs, hiring trainers, and constantly practicing and working to become better, teens lose the most important part of playing a sport. Sure, being on the best team is great, but at the end of the day, why does one play––people should play sports or be a part of activities because they love it.
Certain students have their own idea of perfection: for some it involves getting a perfect 4.0, for others it means making the varsity sports team or even getting into a top college. Perfectionists are pushed to the max by others and learn to push themselves, constantly hoping to achieve these great honors. The reality is that perfection doesn’t exist; rather, it costs teenagers years of stress wasted on a goal they can never achieve.
