Post by paigewallace on Aug 4, 2011 11:03:28 GMT -5
The Organization Kid is an essay written by David Brooks, suggests today’s generation of eagerness to succeed, not only because we’re “nagged” by our parents, but because we want to—we have to.
David Brooks takes it upon himself to explore one of the most prestigious Ivy League schools in America, Princeton. His goal seems to be finding the mindset of many of the students that go there. What they do, how they do, and why they do what they do to become what in their heads is “successful” in life. David interviews some students, along with professors to find out their daily routines, and mindsets. He was told by Jeffrey Herbst, a professor, that their job is to be professional students. David quotes “That doesn't mean that these leaders-in-training are money-mad (though they are certainly career-conscious). It means they are goal-oriented.” We all have goals as students and the future leaders of America. It seems like everyones idea of success is certainly different, but to these students, and many like them all over the US the bar is being raised. It’s no longer what makes you happy, it’s more of the happiness in accomplishment.
I believe that students are sometimes asked to go beyond their limits, but instead of resisting and putting up a battle, we just do it. Why? Not only the pressure of today’s society to be “bigger and better” than the last generation, but by our own drive and need to feel accomplished that has come from being taught to think this. Although I believe it’s important to get an education, become successful, and maintain a career, I also believe it’s important to find happiness in other things than just accomplishment.
David mentions several times in his essay that the young adults enjoy being as busy as they are, admire authority, and do not want to “buck” the system, but climb it. I believe that the reason they have this drive is not only the want, but the need. We feel today as if we don’t need to have fun. We need to do what needs to be done to reach the demanding bar. The students mentioned they don’t have time for relationships, and must make appointments to chat with their friends. There comes a time when they need to ask “Is this what I really want?” to spend my entire life just to be the brightest, get the most powerful, and prestigious career. Success can be defined in many ways, and in my opinion, we should do what we want to do, not necessarily what we feel pressured to do by the world around us, what we feel we “have” to do to be accepted.
We spend most of our young life being taught to not only reach the standard, go beyond it. We are always setting new goals. I believe that we should set our own personal goals, not conform to the goals of others. We SHOULD do what we have to do, what we need to do in order to succeed, not to the worlds bar but our own.
David Brooks takes it upon himself to explore one of the most prestigious Ivy League schools in America, Princeton. His goal seems to be finding the mindset of many of the students that go there. What they do, how they do, and why they do what they do to become what in their heads is “successful” in life. David interviews some students, along with professors to find out their daily routines, and mindsets. He was told by Jeffrey Herbst, a professor, that their job is to be professional students. David quotes “That doesn't mean that these leaders-in-training are money-mad (though they are certainly career-conscious). It means they are goal-oriented.” We all have goals as students and the future leaders of America. It seems like everyones idea of success is certainly different, but to these students, and many like them all over the US the bar is being raised. It’s no longer what makes you happy, it’s more of the happiness in accomplishment.
I believe that students are sometimes asked to go beyond their limits, but instead of resisting and putting up a battle, we just do it. Why? Not only the pressure of today’s society to be “bigger and better” than the last generation, but by our own drive and need to feel accomplished that has come from being taught to think this. Although I believe it’s important to get an education, become successful, and maintain a career, I also believe it’s important to find happiness in other things than just accomplishment.
David mentions several times in his essay that the young adults enjoy being as busy as they are, admire authority, and do not want to “buck” the system, but climb it. I believe that the reason they have this drive is not only the want, but the need. We feel today as if we don’t need to have fun. We need to do what needs to be done to reach the demanding bar. The students mentioned they don’t have time for relationships, and must make appointments to chat with their friends. There comes a time when they need to ask “Is this what I really want?” to spend my entire life just to be the brightest, get the most powerful, and prestigious career. Success can be defined in many ways, and in my opinion, we should do what we want to do, not necessarily what we feel pressured to do by the world around us, what we feel we “have” to do to be accepted.
We spend most of our young life being taught to not only reach the standard, go beyond it. We are always setting new goals. I believe that we should set our own personal goals, not conform to the goals of others. We SHOULD do what we have to do, what we need to do in order to succeed, not to the worlds bar but our own.