Growing up I was told that if I wanted to get into a good university I needed to demonstrate a sense of being well-rounded. I need to be a jack of all trades. Good in english and history, but also good in math and science. Take that a step further. Not only be good in academics, but have separate interests outside of school to really set myself apart. Having grown up in the surge of our technological age, I think this has become increasingly easier for younger people to do with the resources at hand.
Now, in my mid-twenties, I question the use of being well-rounded. I look at people who have had a singular passion their entire lives, been able to dedicate themselves to one particular thing. This is an existence I can hardly comprehend, but as such, admire fiercely.
Being well-rounded was never an issue for me. Academics in high school came easily to me, and I was lazy about many things. I never really pushed myself to excel, because I was always near the top. I did not have a developed sense of pushing against myself and my own limitations. This was the same when I pursued any extracurricular activity as well. This is where my sense of regret comes into play. I wish I had pushed myself harder in each facet of my life at the time. Had I pushed myself harder, I may have become less rounded, and a sharper individual in a particular area, or I could have become superb in a number of areas - I don't know. (I like to think the latter, because it appeals to my ego).
Now, after real life came into play and there was some faltering, I am now struggling to regain my position at the top of something and my well-roundedness has made it very difficult to decide where to put that effort. I become passionate about things 3 days at a time. Meaning, I find something I'm interested in, obsess for three days, learn a ton, and then there's something new. I have had this cycle for about 3 years. Luckily, I have repeated it so many times that I now know what I like and don't like, and can now start putting my focus there. But anyway, the point of this is to reflect that encouraging a sense of well-roundedness has led to some confusion in my life. I have no finally realized to choose to do things not for want of being good at things I admire, or that reflect excellence in other areas, but to do things which suit me, and suit my own personal interests.
This is the major difference for me, having been in college and now being out and actually deciding which route to take my life in that will be both fulfilling and lucrative enough. I have had this discussion with a number of friends, and we all know now that we are choosing things that suit us. So this brings into question the actual value of being well-rounded, and if in fact it can deter you form a truer path for yourself, or in fact lead you there in a roundabout method.
The world continues to broaden. There are more kids, ivy league schools are ridiculously expensive, and it is increasingly becoming accepted and understood that a bachelor's from some fancy school is no mark of intelligence. Life is much broader than the educational and retirement systems we have constructed for ourselves.
The point becomes, while being well-rounded is a fantastic idea, I find that being good at something is more valuable. Had I been an individual very good at academics, and interested in cooking, then I would have applied to the Culinary Institute of America, practiced cooking, and screwed doing sports and clubs and wasting my time trying to cultivate interests, that while fascinating on some level, were not really worth spending my time in. The ultimate lesson of this is to same something so cliche as to stay true to yourself and your interests.
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