American society places a lot of emphasis on being well-rounded. We are encouraged to branch out and try new things and become good at everything we can. The idea is to make yourself versatile and and all-around champion. Which, in and of itself, is not such a bad idea.
People SHOULD try to be versatile and flexible and have options, because options allow for choices, and choices allow for opportunity, and opportunity allows for a chance at what you truly want. And that's all anyone can ask for.
But then it turns into everyone being mediocre at a lot of things, instead of finding one passion and mastering that passion to be the best you can possibly be. You MUST be academically proficient in all subject areas, and you must be at the intermediate level of dance, and you must be socially accepted, and you must know what you want to do with your life. All at the same time.
Life becomes a workload, a burden. You wake up every morning dreading school or work and by the time you're ready to go to dance class, you're too tired from the school day and 4 hours of homework. You go to sleep exhausted and wake up 6 hours later, starting the cycle all over again.
Well, I think that's no way to live. Truly. We simply CANNOT be wonderful at everything we do, and settling for mediocrity at a lot of things is an injustice to yourself. Everybody has the potential to create something amazing out of their lives, but that requires focus. No one ever got anywhere trying to do everything at once.
Yes, we should work hard and try to keep our options open, especially in school, but there is a line that we all should draw. There is a difference between putting in effort and putting in more than you can afford to give.
We all have to make sacrifices for our dreams, and for some of us that means that we have to cut back just a little on the academics to make way for our true passion, whatever that may be. Of course, some people's passion IS academics, and that's great too.
So today I am requesting that you take a look at your life and see what you can make out of it. I guarantee that you will find at least one thing to focus on. When you identify that, embrace it. Don't ever stop working your hardest or putting in effort, but just weigh your workload accordingly.
You have the potential to be something incredible, to master one thing that will hopefully enrich your life and make you happier. Don't let yourself get gypped out of a world of wonderful.
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