Author discusses overachievement

Speaking to a full house in Alumni Hall in the Indiana Memorial Union, author Alexandra Robbins posed the question that she said many students today feel they have to decide upon: “Do I want to be happy or successful?”\nRobbins’ lecture, titled after her latest book, “The Overachievers: The Secret Lives of Driven Kids,” focused on the enormous amount of pressure that high school and college students both deal with, and how it doesn’t have to be that way. Robbins started her lecture by condemning college rankings. \n“Rankings are a complete sham and should be boycotted,” Robbins said. “Nowhere in the rankings does it say if students are happy.”\nRobbins also went into how Americans live in an overachieving culture, which she researches in great detail in for “The Overachievers,” as she followed the lives of four high school students for three semesters. Robbins said one of the students she followed received a 1570 out of 1600 on his SAT, but after his mother berated him, took it a second time to receive a perfect score. \n“More than one of the students that I followed contemplated suicide because of the pressures of school,” Robbins said.\nRobbins next spoke about how the pressures that students face has led to there being an 80 percent cheating rate amongst college students, who are also the most sleep-deprived people of any age group. \nRobbins then offered five important tips to keep in mind: not getting sucked into “the comparison game,” not fearing risks, thinking about what you want out of your own life, allowing yourself to change your mind and finding a passion outside of your profession.\n“The most frequent question that I’m asked is, ‘How do I figure out what it is I want do with my life?’” Robbins said. “You have to differentiate who you are at heart from who you are on paper.”\nAfter giving her advice to the audience, Robbins ended her lecture with a message.\n“Take it easy – do something that lets you unwind,” Robbins said. “Don’t worry so much about doing, but about being. After college, you’re going to be okay.”\nFollowing her lecture and answering some questions from the audience, Robbins stayed after to sign copies of her books. Her lecture was well received by those in attendance. \n“I thought it was really interesting because I came from a competitive high school and can relate to a lot of her stuff,” said freshman Jeremy Rosenthal. “A lot of (her tips) are important; you have to do what you love.”\nSophomore Livy Wilz and her mother, who traveled 2 1/2 hours to hear Robbins speak, concurred with Robbins’ thoughts on the overachieving society.\n“I’m a biochemistry major and she really described a lot of people I know,” Wilz said. “Some people are all about their statistics.”\nAs for Robbins’ initial question, “Do I want to be happy, or successful?” she offered her response.\n“The narrow but popular definition of success is wrong,” Robbins said. “To be happy is to be successful.”