On one of the latest episodes of Glee, the plot line, which I was able to ascertain in a short five minutes, followed the plight of Kurt Hummel (one of the main characters) running for class office in order to ensure his admission into the college of his dreams. How many of us are guilty of doing this?

While karma ended up striking Kurt from class office in the end, it reminded me of a train of thought I had started a few months ago. Simply, too many students at schools around the nation, are joining extra-curricular activities for the wrong reasons. They are inundated with the notion that universities are seeking the perfect, well-rounded student, a belief that is fueled by misinformed parents and false assumptions.

First off, universities are searching for the perfect, well-rounded class, and thus students who might possess a particular strength in one or two areas of their choice.

No student has any business leading or founding a club with the intent of gussying up their college applications. Please, for the sake of your members (one of whom might be myself), step down. If you do not, I promise that fate will see to you a similar destiny that begot Kurt.

Instead, do things for the experience; you never know what might come of it. My own schooling has taught me that. In fact, the reason I am writing for this paper is because I did not make the cut for the high school sport of my dreams. However, after much thought, I have come to conclude that I wouldn’t want any different.

This column is not for college advice, however. What I saw, symbolized by Kurt’s frenetic attempt to “make it” was revealing of what society has taught myself, and my peers to value above all else – an end.

We have come to value the end of a process over the process itself. In school, this end manifests itself in grades, college admissions and test scores. Is it not sad that students remember the ecstasy of receiving a high mark on a project, but not the knowledge gleaned from the project itself? I know that I have done such a thing myself.

For me, the most valuable experiences I have gleaned from school were the ones I partcipated in due simply to my interest in partaking in them. The least valuable ones, conversely, were the ones I participated in for reasons other than my own interest.

So why might people continue to submit themselves to this process of accumulating “laundry lists” of activities in order to establish themselves as qualified candidates for the school of their dreams?

Simply, it is how those “qualified candidates” are rewarded.

Seemingly, those who can do “a lot of a little” are lauded for their multi-faceted “talent.” However, this is because it is simply easier to embody this social image. Does it truly take much involvement to emulate such a form of talent?

Instead, I believe that those who are more admirable are those who are deeply committed to meaningful activities and are willing to deepen their proficiency of such activities. These students are able to commit valuable time and energy to those things they are most passionate about.

You might now be able to see how Kurt’s election on Glee is a reflection of the backward thinking of many high school students. In order to satisfy an end (for Kurt, it was his desire for acceptance into acting school), students often engage in activities that are counter-intuitive to the end they wish to reach in the first place. Instead of running for class office, something that Kurt was truly never interested in, he might have done himself and the world a favor by initiating an acting workshop for kids who lack the means to participate in acting on a regular basis.

However, as Kurt’s character believed, it was necessary to run for class office in order to satisfy an end that might not have been appreciated by such an occupation anyway. Unfortunately, we have been taught to and seem to witness that those who are class presidents, athletes, interns, club officers, and actors all with the same face (and have time to sleep as well) are destined to succeed. Understand that if you believe such a person embodies success, you are under a false impression.

So, president of club X, or writer for the Y literary publication, understand that your passion is your largest investment in your future. Or, in other words, if you wanted to submit to our tendency to quantify all experiences with an end, know that your passion, not your laundry list, will serve you better in achieving your goal.