"I'm doing it for college": and that's okay

Advanced Placement (AP) U.S. History. AP Language and Composition. AP Statistics. AP Calculus BC. The four AP classes I’m taking this year have absolutely nothing to do with what I want to do in college. In fact, I have no idea what I want to do in college. So why am I taking them, you ask? It’s the answer most every high schooler has for some part of his or her life: I’m doing it for college. I need to do it for college.My entire existence thus far has been a game of “Will this look good on my application?”, and for good reason too. Practically every student at Samo has been told at some point in their life that their dreams of success can only become reality with the help of a college degree — and not just any college degree. Those top level private schools and universities with ridiculously low acceptance rates are going to look for the best of the best students. In most cases, this means the kids who pushed themselves the hardest.And the truth of it is that the things I spend my time doing right now are mostly for the eyes of a college admissions officer.Every single one of us has been trained to think high school to college to future, each step leading to the next. I will never shake the feeling that every mistake I make now as a 16-year-old is going to have a much bigger and more ghastly consequence in my adult life.This mindset that my high school career is what either makes or breaks my future career is one that I needed to adopt in order to get ahead. In the admissions process, students are pared down brutally; those who haven’t been equipped with AP classes, extracurriculars and community service are those left behind.So, I’ve taken the easier route: I’ve bowed to my fate as a workaholic, at least for these four years of high school. I’ve stuck my nose into textbook after textbook for the sake of the future I’ve been promised, and I don’t regret a single minute of it. High school may not be the ten-year-long journey that Odysseus faced, but if any goal is going to motivate me to defeat my own personal Cyclops, it’s college.Kitaro Webb, my AP Language and Composition teacher, posed my class with an interesting challenge to think about why we’re doing things when we do them. Why do we robotically go from class to class, frantically worrying about the next essay we have to turn in and the test next Thursday? And for that matter, why are we all so stuck on this idea of college and its singular power to make us truly happy as adults?The answer here is that we have to; the modern educational institution pits us against our classmates Hunger Games-style, making the very top the only place that will yield success. And we end up enduring the relentless work when we realize how very badly all of us want to go to that one college of our dreams. The frantic worrying and robotic behavior? It’s nothing more than working towards a goal.Now, don’t get me wrong, it’s not as if I'm cynical about every aspect of my life. But I’d be lying if I were to say that anything in my life is done purely out of passion — I may have started some things out of enjoyment but have continued for the sake of my resume. I love playing volleyball, but I’m equally aware of the fact that four years on a sport adds a nice balance to my future college application.In no way, shape, or form is any of that something to be ashamed of. In fact, I’ll take pride in the face that one of the reasons I’m in volleyball is to further my college application — I’m working towards a much bigger goal while taking opportunities as they come to me.Many of my classmates and I could have free periods or no AMs or maybe even five classes. But with the college-bound perspective that we have, that is far less sensible than facing the sleep deprivation and stress that a junior with 4 AP classes has the privilege of experiencing.So when I’m posed with the quintessential question, “Why?”, I will proudly say “Because it looks good for college.” High school is a melting pot of people pursuing their goals, and in my case, furthering my collegiate and adult career. And while I may be following the trend of my classmates by filling my schedule with activities for the eyes of an admissions officer, it’s a trend I’m forced to follow.Doing things for the sole purpose of showing them to the admissions board is not a show of superficiality but rather one of ambition, and the ambition that comes with wanting a successful future is the reason an entire generation of overachievers has emerged.