As your typical stressed high school student, my future weighs heavily on my mind every day; in my own pursuit of happiness I decided to research the idea of “success.”

People generally associate success with happiness, if you have a successful life, then you will live a happier life. In America the idea of equal opportunity is a core value of many citizens, but according to author Malcolm Gladwell the rules of our society are inherently unequal.

Gladwell points out many of the shortcomings society has in its system to ensure equality. For example, Gladwell highlights the disparity between people who were born in certain months that are closer to the end of cut-off dates that become successful and those born closer to the beginning of the cut-off dates. Therefore people born in certain months gain more experience compared to their peers allowing them to have a seniority advantage despite being judged against each other.

This influences sports players and students alike and it is an example of a system that needs to be changed. One proposed solution is to change the ways that grades are divided, decreasing the experience gap between peers.

When you take a good look at the inherent inequalities in society you start to realize that there is so much work to be done. As Americans we should be advocating for an upheaval of outdated systems that are fundamentally unequal.

Cody Ngan

Bellevue