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The past few weeks at UCLA have seen the annual pilgrimage of thousands of college-bound high school juniors and seniors taking tours and getting more information to help them decide on their future alma mater. Most of us probably remember doing the same thing when we were their age. While we are a few years older, we are still part of the same generation of Americans – the millennial generation.

One of the unique characteristics of our era has been the focus on achievement and competition, and the pressure to excel. While accomplishment and success are worthy values, many young people in our generation are taking them to such an extreme that they are eclipsing other important aspects of life. Even extracurricular activities seem to pad an application more than serve a real purpose.

This recent trend indicates it’s time for us to reflect on how to better balance our achievement-oriented lifestyles with other significant parts of life that we are neglecting.

Most of the time, the drive to compete has positive impacts, helping us to excel and do better at everything from sports to school. However, many of the competitive values manifested in our society actually have a negative impact on our lives.

Consider some recent examples. Many high school students are now attending SAT-prep summer camps. Students at these camps spend their days studying for the SAT and preparing their college resumes instead of traditional summer camp activities like canoeing, hiking and playing sports. While the desire to perform well on the SAT is commendable, it does not justify preclusion from teenagers’ normal summer-time activities.

In the movie “Bowling for Columbine,” Matt Stone, the creator of “South Park,” critiqued this stress on competition, saying, “In sixth grade I had to take the honors math test, and they were like, ‘Don’t screw this up because if you screw this up, you won’t get into honors math in seventh grade, and of course if you don’t get into honors math in seventh grade, you won’t get into honors math in eighth grade, and then not in ninth grade, and 10th grade, and 11th grade, and then you’ll just die poor and lonely.’”

It is sad that children have to study so hard to get ahead that they spend their after-school hours in front of books instead of playing on sports teams, doing ballet, or participating in Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts. While they might surpass their peers, it will be at the cost of exclusion from other activities. By spending less time with their classmates, these children won’t have as many friends. And as they spend less time playing sports or doing other group activities, they will develop less teamwork and cooperation skills.

It isn’t just young students who suffer from this over-emphasis on achievement either. We college students have some of the very same problems. College students who are preparing for graduate schools also have to take prep classes for graduate school exams. These classes have become the norm. Many students are now taking them just so they won’t fall behind the other applicants who do. The prices of these classes are also outrageous, with some costing upward of $1,000.

Often, competition pressures college students into dishonesty as well. Cheating and embellishing resumes have become common practices among students.

I’m not saying we should all stop studying for our classes and go out partying all the time. School is important and deserves much of our attention. However, it isn’t entitled to all of it. As a generation, we need to do a better job of making time for other essential facets of life. Many people refer to this as a “work hard, play hard” philosophy. But whatever you want to call it, we need to live by it more. Instead of making achievement such a big priority, our generation should place more emphasis on being well-rounded individuals.

Bitondo is a third-year political science and history student. E-mail him at mbitondo@media.ucla.edu.