"You can be whatever you want to be, as long as you work hard and do your best."
I love it when things like that are true. Our culture loves it too! We all cheer when the villain gets what's coming to him and the good guys win out. If life worked this way, life would be fair. Wouldn't that be nice?
Can you imagine what the world would be like if we truly lived in a full-fledged meritocracy, where everyone really deserved everything that happened in his or her life? Won the lottery? Well that's great because you deserve it! Accidentally burned dinner? Well, I don't know what to tell ya because you (and anyone else you were cooking for) deserve that too ;-).
Okay, so I'm exaggerating, but isn't that the idea at the heart of a meritocracy, where you get what you work for? Isn't that what our elementary school teachers very good-naturedly taught us to believe in? I mean after all, ideally, a meritocracy would have this effect on a person:
1. Johnny works hard and therefore excels in school and extracurriculars.
2. Johnny goes to college and studies a societally relevant subject, continuing to work his hardest, which leads to excellent grades.
3. Johnny enters the working world. He doesn't get the career he wants right away, but that doesn't thwart his work ethic! Johnny slowly but surely works his way up the ladder.
4. Johnny eventually reaches his goal. It took time and hard work, but gosh darn it, he did it!
Wouldn't that be nice? The problem I have with this narrative is that believing a true meritocracy is possible could actually have this effect on a person:
1. Johnny works his hardest in school, college and extracurriculars. He pulls off a few As, but for some reason can't get more than a B or a C in some subjects.
2. When Johnny graduates from college, he applies for several jobs, but only gets rejected. He ends up with a job that pays a low hourly wage and seems pretty unrelated to what he studied in college.
3. Johnny tries to increase his skill sets by continuing his education online, and works his hardest on school and creating a new resume.
4. Johnny applies to more entry-level jobs in his desired field, while trying to gain what relevant experience he can at his current job. He keeps getting rejected.
5. Johnny comes down with a really bad case of disillusionment. Is this really what it's supposed to be like? Shouldn't all my hard work pay off?
6. Johnny eventually finds a higher paying job that he kinda likes, but that sense of disillusionment never quite goes away. He knows that he didn't quite "make it" and chalks it up to not trying hard enough.
"Geez, Kelsey, that story got a little cynical..." (that's you talking, by the way). Yeah, yeah, I know. I guess that sometimes a little pessimism helps me be...errm...optimistic. What I mean is this: as much as I would like life to be fair, believing 100% that certain actions (like getting relevant experience, going to college, whatever) will lead to certain outcomes (landing a sweet career), while it is a cheery and optimistic way of looking at life can actually lead to quite a bit of sadness. I mean, obviously people succeed and fail based on actions they've taken all the time. What I'm trying to say is that this isn't always the case...sometimes things just don't work out for a whole host of reasons.
So, here's a healthy dose of pessimism for all you awesome people out there who just can't seem to...well...look quite as awesome on paper. A meritocracy is a myth! There is no way that you have entirely earned any successes or failures in life. Many of my peers are very hard-working, intelligent, caring people who are given very few opportunities to showcase what they are capable of. In fact, just about everyone I know is capable of more than they will probably ever achieve in their lifetime. And that's just fine.
Thoughts? Comment below! And again, for all you overachievers out there, share this blog with a friend!
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