Opinions
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PERFECTING BALANCE, NOT OURSELVES By Meaghan Healy Gavel Media Staff
Boston College’s reputation as a campus full of overachievers is no secret. As students, we especially are aware of the competition here and the general aspiration to do well in many aspects of our lives. Students discuss the balance of studying, spending time at the Plex, volunteering, and managing sports and other extracurriculars. If you scroll through Facebook’s BC Confessions page, you’ll see posts from people worried about not doing well in school or complaining about the competitive nature of this university. Of course, just like with any stereotype, not every student here is an overachiever. Not everyone gets upset if an assignment doesn’t get finished or if there isn’t enough time to hit the gym one day. But what exactly defines an overachiever? To overachieve means, “to perform better or achieve more success than expected.” So what is expected of us, and how do we know we’re performing better 28
than that? In general, I think as BC students we’re expected to do well academically. After all, that is why we are at this school and why we pay to attend here. One could also say that BC, as a Jesuit school, service is another vital part of campus life that all
Most want to be the full package, which usually means getting good grades, being healthy inside and out, and being involved on campus. students are expected to fulfill. Those are the bare minimum expectations, but what about the expectations for ourselves? Our own expectations are arguably more im-
portant than those of our peers and families and clearly these are different for every student. However, it seems that most students want to be the full package, which usually means getting good grades, being healthy, and being involved on campus. Of course, these are generalizations, and these are all great things to be. It makes sense that we should want to be this way. After all, BC is a selective school. I’m no admissions expert, but I would think that having the full package (or at least striving for it) and having a determined attitude are important traits to look for in a prospective student. It’s as if the reason we got into this school is because we’re overachievers. Still, this overachieving thing can get scary at times. You can’t go a day without hearing about the high stress level of one of your friends or floormates. I don’t know about you, but I can’t go a day without feeling worried about upcoming work for my classes
May 2013