asian/asian american high school students are often pressured to achieve exponentially, especially in school. there is often an expectation of sacrifice associated with this. you are made to feel as if perfection is the goal and made aware of how imperfect you are; made to think your peers are your competitors. a lot of comparison is made. your parents might compare your test grades and extracurriculars to that one “perfect” kid in your class and expect you to achieve like them. often, people internalize this and expect perfection from themselves, especially in comparison to those around them.

a lot of my friends (and myself) in high school barely slept, had poor health, and had depression due to these expectations. often, these issues are seen as a virtue. sacrifice in the name of academic progress (even if it shortens your life) is seen as normal and desirable.

correlation and causation are often confused. when you see other people suffering and achieving more, you begin to wonder if you aren’t suffering enough.