I don’t know where the rant about America and having to be the best came from. Aren’t we the land of giving trophys to every kid who plays the game? Aren’t we the people who tell our kids, “as long as you tried, that’s what matters.” Aren’t we working on work/life balance (although I know some counties have tipped a different way.) still, tech firms have changed corporate culture to some degree with free everything on campus and better time off. Aren’t we the people who encourage our kids to find their passion, and let their childhoods be one thing after another to that end? ( music lessons, then sports, then art, “nah Dad I want to ski,” “Um, I think space camp would be better….”) The goal for parents I know is to find what they kids like, which takes some tries. Because, they want their kids to be happy. Everybody wants their kid to be A students but not everybody can and parents only seem to get upset when it’s a capable kid getting Fs. (And then half the time they blame the school)
I think she’s confusing Americans with Asians. Pick up a violin at 3 and you are stuck with it forever and you better learn the thing, you have to work towards being a doctor or lawyer. happiness is not the goal, success is. Tiger moms, and all that.
But why is Anna saying this? Surely she was never forced by her family to be anything but alive, and was allowed to pursue whatever she wanted including stuffing her face-she even made up her own degree. If she felt some internal desire to be the best (many kids do) that’s on her, not US culture. And, I think Anna failed at being best.
Insane to think everybody is not being paid well either. Sure, ladder jobs don’t pay well but you are supposed to move up. Some jobs don’t pay well but nobody says a person can’t get educated and switch. It’s a weird comment from a person who has only been successful, either from the start Dad gave her and now the interest people have of seeing a modern day freak show (or sadly, somebody like them.)
That whole speech was just chopped word salad but she went to some odd places.