Does anyone hate how competitive the world has become?

[Anonymous]

Everything is so damn competitive now, and I don't know how people survive this world. It starts when someone is young with how competitive youth sports has become. It is extremely difficult to even make the JV team now. College admissions are more competitive and cutthroat than ever, and you have to be insanely lucky to get into a school like UVA, UMich, or UNC right now.

Even if you make it into a good college, the competition doesn't stop there. Most engineering, premed, and business clubs require applications and interviews to join. Greek life rejects most people who try to join. Getting research experience is extremely hard too.

And it is impossible to find a job now once you graduate.

How are kids supposed to survive now?

[Anonymous]

As a father of a young boy, I think about this all the time. Things are so different from when I was a kid which wasn't even that long ago. You can't do rec league soccer and more it has to be travel league, summer camp signup started before the New Year, high school kids are doing charity trips to third world countries... This list just goes on and on...

[Anonymous]

I am feeling this too. The only solution is that we collectively start pushing back and just stop with it. It’s absurd. We can’t “have it all” and need to learn to be happy with less. Greed is causing division and ruining the planet.

It is possible to have a nice life without doing any of the stuff in the OP.
After all, if there are enough good, smart kids not getting into the types of schools OP mentions, those kids still have to go somewhere, and they will do well even if they never got to play JV sports or join a frat.

In the end, it’s all just vapor anyway.

[Anonymous]

It’s all in your mindset. Stop trying to keep up with everyone else.
To the poster who said you can’t even do rec soccer anymore it has to be travel, no it doesn’t. My rising 7th grader does rec soccer because she still wants to play basketball in the winter and try flag football this fall. Some kids went to travel, we did not. You gotta change your perspective.
If your kids are happy and go to college and get into a field they want to be in, that’s enough. If your kids are happy and don’t go to college but still do something that fulfills them, that’s enough too.
It’s hard living in this area if you’re competitive but that’s in your head and something you can change.

[Anonymous]

It’s just the dc area. Move to the south or Midwest

[Anonymous]

It’s because the middle has fallen out of the middle class. To have a comfortable life and be able to afford to have agency you need to be in the top ~15%. It feels competitive because it IS.

I know some wonderful people who have opted out. They have big families, live in PG, go to Catholic parish school or homeschool. Life has a nice pace. For the most part, their kids aren’t going to highly ranked colleges. Some are, but it isn’t the norm. Will their kids be able to afford to buy homes and support families in the future? I’m not sure.

Do poor people have kids? Sure. How is that population doing in school? Not well. What is their quality of life? Poor.

If we had a more robust middle class then it would alleviate the problem.

[Anonymous]

You can choose to buy into this lifestyle. Not everyone does. Focus your attention differently.

[Anonymous]

You don’t have to buy in to any of that.

That said, the people who are privileged enough to play the game are ultimately living lives of incredible leisure. To act like competing for a spot in a fraternity or a travel soccer team is some kind of hardship is ridiculous.

[Anonymous]

I have a kid who makes it look easy. He always makes the team and excels academically. He is hoping for an ivy.

I have another kid who is borderline good at everything and a third kid who is too young to tell. Not everyone will go to a T20 college and that is ok. My middle kid will probably go to a school like BU or Penn State. Your kid can go there too.

[Anonymous]

You can opt out of this. It’s fine to aim for the stars, but you can do that and still make the best of what you have to work with in the moment.

[Anonymous]

I already accepted that my kids are average and might have to go to community college or a lower tier state school. I know they have the skills to be successful even if they aren’t in a stereotypical UMC profession.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s just the dc area. Move to the south or Midwest

No, it’s every suburban area with wealth.

[Anonymous]

Hot take. Maybe it's competitive for you and your kids because you simply rode the coattails of your ancestors and aren't that good at anything ...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s because the middle has fallen out of the middle class. To have a comfortable life and be able to afford to have agency you need to be in the top ~15%. It feels competitive because it IS.

I know some wonderful people who have opted out. They have big families, live in PG, go to Catholic parish school or homeschool. Life has a nice pace. For the most part, their kids aren’t going to highly ranked colleges. Some are, but it isn’t the norm. Will their kids be able to afford to buy homes and support families in the future? I’m not sure.

Do poor people have kids? Sure. How is that population doing in school? Not well. What is their quality of life? Poor.

If we had a more robust middle class then it would alleviate the problem.

+100

I don’t play the game because I can’t afford it. I do what I can and I have faith.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hot take. Maybe it's competitive for you and your kids because you simply rode the coattails of your ancestors and aren't that good at anything ...

Hot take. Maybe you’re a POS.