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At any school, whether it is public, private, or international, there are students who are academically successful in all subjects but aren’t outstanding. These students’ report cards are mostly A’s and B’s and have no failing grades. On the other hand, there are students who are extraordinarily talented at one particular thing. They could be brilliant at English, science, music, sports, or filmmaking. Yet, the subject they specialize in is not important, but their expertise and passion for that one area are the essentials.
The question is, then, what’s better–specializing or being well-rounded? People’s opinions definitely vary, but there are pros and cons for both choices.
Specializing allows you to decide and prepare for your dream career at a young age, since you can spend all your time practicing that one thing. This will certainly give you an advantage in achieving your dream career. For example, if a boy’s dream is to become a mathematician and he has both talent and devotion for math, he can spend time only studying math from his childhood. Doing such would increase the possibility of him becoming a mathematician since he has put so much effort and time into math. However, specializing has its perils. Specializing at a young age relinquishes and eliminates the possibilities and opportunities of learning and experiencing any subject other than the specialized one. Furthermore, specializing is not so easy as it seems. Although diligence is mandatory for successful specializing, without talent, one cannot successfully specialize. For example, let’s say a 10 year-old boy wants to become a professional basketball player, so he practices basketball everyday. But then, if he does not have the appropriate physicality, the truth is, he will suffer difficulties competing with other athletes who possess both the work ethics and the physicality. Specializing would also be detrimental to academics since you will excel only in the specialized topic, but most likely, fail the others.
The merit of being well-rounded is that your grades will be very good. You will have no problem with any subject since you will have an average grade of B+ or A-. Compared to a specialized student, you have a higher chance of going to a better university since overall, you have a better grade. You can work harder to get all A’s in the subjects and hopefully, go to the best universities in the world. However, the problem is, there are too many smart, well-rounded students around the world. Going to a good university does not end your worries. After graduating university, you have to compete again with other elite graduates to acquire the “white-collar” elite jobs such as doctor, lawyer, diplomat, among others. Despite graduating from the best universities in the world, some students might not have jobs that they desire since they don’t have any favorite subject. For example, imagine a student with a GPA of 3.8; her successful academic performance is mainly due to her background—strict parents who force her to study hard. Therefore, she studies to get good grades, but she does not have any subject that she’s interested in.
If you want to specialize in one thing, you should not be good at that thing in a mediocre manner. You have to be exceptionally talented. And becoming exceptionally talented springs from loving and enjoying doing that thing. If you are forced by others to study math, play sports, or play music, you are not the suitable character for specializing in something. The prominent Chinese philosopher, Confucius once said, “The one who was born a genius can’t win against the one who tries, and the one who tries can’t win against the one who enjoys.” If you’re willing to devote your time and effort, and most importantly, enjoy doing something, specializing may be the path for your success.
However, many students in the world are often reminded by their parents and teachers to study and get good grades. They do things because they are told to do so, not because they enjoy studying. Then, these students should just stick to studying and aim to getting high grades. Yes, getting high grades is not an easy thing to do. Also, just because you get high grades, it does not guarantee your success. Later, after you graduate, you might not even have a job because you don’t know what to do, or even if you do have a job, you might not enjoy it. Therefore, to become successful from being all-around, you need to find a subject or a career which interests you.
I personally prefer being extremely great at one thing instead of unnecessarily being good at everything. When I grew up, I always envied peers who were exceptionally talented at one particular thing, whether it was math, music, English, technology, filmmaking, or dancing. It appeared as if their careers were already set. Who cared if someone got D’s and F’s for math and English in her report card, if she could play the piano better than anyone else in the world? What would be the point of getting all A’s, if he does not have anything that he wishes to do? In Asia, many parents say, “If you’re good at studying, you will go to a good university. If you go to a good university, you will have more options for your career, and you can eventually choose what you want to do. Then, you will become successful and have a happy life.” And I often thought that the statement was wrong since graduating from a good university does not promise a successful, happy life.
After reading this article and reminiscing about your experiences with hindsight, what do you think is better: specializing or being well-rounded?
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