Students should be well-rounded; it’s the only way to get into a good college. This is what students hear all the time. However, the pressure to develop this “well-roundedness” sometimes becomes too much of a burden, as students try to conform to what they think colleges want them to achieve.

Due to this pressure, students are pushed to be in different activities. However, students who don’t want to join any club or sport struggle with how to “pad” their resume. Are they just supposed to join clubs that they really have no interest in? There’s no point in doing that, as forced choices lead to a feeling of not belonging, which is contrary to what groups aspire to be.

Students should be able to feel as if they have a say in how they want to interact with the world. There may be a student who likes to draw as a hobby, and is very good at it, but does it only on his/her own time at home, so how can you tell this student she’s not well-rounded compared to the student who draws for fun in an art club but isn’t very good at it? A student shouldn’t be considered more well-rounded than another just because she participates in something school-related when both students are doing the same exact thing.

That same student who enjoys honing her talents at home may start to think that she should join a club of some sorts in order to look good on college applications, even though all she really wants to do is enjoy her talent and keep it to herself. This is unfair because then she aspires to be a certain type of person rather than herself.

Some of the students who are pushed out of their element the most are the introverts. Introverts are shy and reticent people, and they shouldn’t be forced to become extroverts. We are all created differently, and these differences include differences in our interests, our activities and our personalities.

While some people love to talk with others and put themselves out there, others would rather keep to themselves and work behind the scenes or on their own. When colleges and schools believe that everyone should join activities and clubs, they are neglecting the fact that not everyone is going to take that same path. If someone is truly against joining a club, he/she shouldn’t have to join just so he/she can hopefully get into a good college.

What colleges should consider more are the grades that students have earned, the classes they’ve take, and their recommendations. These are important things that can show a student’s true personality, such as if they’re a consistent worker and if they have a specific talent and interest. A student who consistently works hard might not have time for extracurricular activities, or maybe they might just want to focus on academics. If this is the case, that student should have an equal chance of getting into a good college as the student who is in an extracurricular activity. They’ve both worked hard and have strived to do well in something they’re passionate about, regardless of what that passion is, whether it is grades or extracurricular activities. For this reason, they should both be looked at by colleges in an equal manner.

When talking about being well-rounded, there is no clear definition on what it really means. Everyone has their own interpretation, but I believe that everyone is well-rounded in their own way, no matter how they spread their time or whether or not they’re in any clubs or activities. Everyone is their own person, and no one should be able to force them to do something they have no interest in doing to simply meet a societal standard.