Why is it that everyone feels entitled these days? Why does everyone feel like they are WORTHY of being adored, worthy of being a star? Nowadays, if you ask the average sixth grader what they want to be when they grow up, theyâ??ll say â??A doctorâ?? or â??richâ??. When did children stop having realistic goals in life like becoming a firefighter or a nurse, and trade in those honorable professions for â??plastic surgeonâ?? and â??NFL MVP of the Yearâ??? I think it has a lot to do with our culture today. Young people donâ??t aspire to be average or happy in life, they want to be the best of the best, and although our culture has always awarded the â??bestâ?? with admiration and acclaim, this type of mentality is trivializing and superficializing Americaâ??s youth. Children today donâ??t want to be nurses, they want to be full fledged neuro surgeons. They donâ??t want to be hobbyist short story writers, they want to be Pulitzer prize winners.

Personally, Iâ??ve always thought of myself as a pretty unique individual... my interests are eclectic and varied, and my multiculturalism adds an interesting layer to my character as well as my outlook on life. I donâ??t aspire to be the first black president... or even an astronaut. But what I do aspire to be is a professional. Undoubtedly, my dream of becoming a professional is an effect of my environment and the time and place in which I live. If it were the early 1800â??s, I would probably be someoneâ??s slave... some rich white slave ownerâ??s concubine or his wifeâ??s hairdresser. I wouldn't aspire to much other than having an unfractured family and escaping north to freedom. If it were the 1950â??s or 60â??s, I would probably want to be a nurse or a teacher if my husband allowed me to or my parents could afford the education. As of now, I am at in an interesting point in time, I have the opportunity as well as the support of those I love to do practically anything I desire, career wise. So, if I have my parentâ??s support me whether Iâ??m a bagger at the local grocery store, a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, a day laborer, a self employed businesswoman, or a starving student, then why is it that I still pine for the â??bestâ?? in life... the end piece of brisket?

The competitive nature of todayâ??s youth is unprecedented. We are trained from an early age to rise to the top of our game and beat out all of the other 4th graders in the spelling bees... to join the academic teams and compete against the â??bestâ?? of the â??bestâ??... to win the softball games... to get into the â??bestâ?? colleges. All of this pressure to succeed is heaped upon young children by parents eager to have a Harvard kid, a little scholar. I consider myself unique because I feel the pressure of being the best, but no one has ever told me to. My parents let me make all of my own academic decisions and, like i said before, they support me in all that I do. So, if parents are not the principle cause of this â?? Reach the top... be the best, the absolute most successfulâ?? type of mindset, then who is teaching Americaâ??s youth these principles?