In contrast to past decades, travel sports, the arts, and extracurricular activities among students as early as middle schoolers have become increasingly competitive and often require substantial time commitments. Especially in rigorous areas, students fortunate enough to have access to well-established academic and extracurricular programs encounter the double-edged sword of having to commit to their passions early on. In order to be the “best” in their areas of interest, students are dedicating themselves to “their” activity earlier than ever. The inherent competitive nature of these activities eliminates the exploration of interests amongst young students in middle school and high school, and once again as students attend rigorous universities. High school seniors and new college students may be prematurely selecting majors as a consequence. It begs the question: what are the benefits and detriments of “rigor” when it comes to self-exploration?
Having attended a rigorous high school myself, I feel extremely lucky to have had access to the academic and extracurricular opportunities that I did. As a consequence, however, myself and those around me were ultimately forced to pick and choose the after school activities in which to involve ourselves in order to keep making the team or obtaining a role or position in an organization. Since many of these activities were very competitive to get into, it was sometimes difficult to try new things.
I began playing travel soccer in third grade. My early dedication to soccer allowed me to excel at it more than those who got involved later. I was able to consistently make teams as the years went on, whereas friends of mine who got involved in the sport later were often cut due to the lack of practice in comparison. At the same time, the intense practice schedule (in middle school!) prohibited me from trying out other sports and activities. For some students, it makes sense to pour your all into a sport at a relatively young age. The rigor of the club team I played for benefitted young athletes who wanted to go far in their sport. However, in my case, I had no plans of continuing soccer in a serious way, like at the college level. For me, the rigor of the team was ultimately limiting as I enjoyed the sport but found myself missing out on chances to try other activities due to the time-consuming nature of the competitive team.Â
Now, as I watch my younger brother navigate dual involvement in programs that our high school offers, I am even more wary of just how beneficial the “rigor” of the well-established programs really is. As an athlete and a musician, he has struggled to remain involved in both of his extracurriculars. While it is exciting to see how students improve their talent within these amazing programs, it is also disappointing to watch him and his peers pick and choose between their passions since they cannot realistically manage the time constraints of both. Some wish they could simply get involved in activities that they enjoy without the inevitable intense commitment that followed.
This idea goes beyond middle school and high school extracurriculars — it also applies to academic niches. Students who thrive in specific academic areas may dedicate the majority of their time to just those areas, limiting well-roundedness. Additionally, college-age students often feel pressure to choose a major early in efforts to get ahead and stand out amongst their similarly accomplished peers. While choosing a major earlier has benefits, premature declaration of a major limits the exploration of other areas of study. Students may miss out on exploring other academic interests of theirs. Not unlike my travel soccer experience, students may later realize that their main passions lay elsewhere. However, due to the rigor of their desired program of study, students may then find themselves having fallen too far behind to switch.Â
Liberal Arts programs like the College of Literature, Arts, and the Sciences (LSA) at the University of Michigan has a set of requirements that all students enrolled in the college must complete to graduate, encouraging exploration of non-dominant academic subjects. I support this methodology, as it works to facilitate well-roundedness amongst students who may not have otherwise prioritized furthering their understanding of topics outside of their main area of study. On the other hand, it may still be very challenging for an LSA student to apply to transfer into the Ross Business School or the strict path of the Nursing school.Â
I cannot directly speak to the relationship between rigor and self-exploration at other secondary schools and universities besides those that I have attended, so my observations should not necessarily be generalized to all rigorous schools. However, the underlying message that I aim to bring forth is the importance of engaging in self-exploration so as to not miss out on potential interests when you still have the time, and the value of prioritizing interdisciplinary academic and extracurricular participation to create well-rounded people.