Rejection and college students

blossom
Sun, 18 May 2025 14:41:28 +0000

MWolf:

I’m sorry, but these articles are starting to look like the journalist equivalent of Shower Thoughts, generated by thinking about the claims of the wealthy educated parents in his circle of friends and acquaintances.

I will add (to your very fine post) that many of the “oh look how hard it is to be a young person these days” cite misleading statistics on mental health, suicidal ideation, etc. as if only Cornell students try to (and sometimes succeed) in killing themselves, what have we done to this generation that experiences so much pressure and anxiety, etc.

Yes, suicide is a tragedy. Yes, anxiety and the mental health crisis is real. But look at the ACTUAL numbers- not the “I pluck the statistics that work for my argument” numbers. Suicide is a real phenomenon- among the non-college attending late adolescents working, among the non-college attending late adolescents in the military, etc. Anxiety, all the other mental health ailments- truly an equal opportunity affliction-- upper middle class, middle class, working poor, etc.

The counterpoint to "We put so much pressure on our kids to get into Princeton, and then once they’re there, the system is stacked so they can’t get into the “Right Eating Club” is- "The suicide rates in the military have jumped significantly. In part- it’s access to a weapon. In part- it’s due to addiction and how we count overdose deaths (accidental? intentional?) In part it’s due to reduced access to counseling early enough to flag a soldier/seaman/airman as “high risk” before it spirals.

Etc. I doubt the men and women in our armed forces are hankering for a spot at an Eating Club when they are fighting their inner demons and not getting help, support, etc.