The Cult of the CV: Are we Students or Performers?

I’ll admit it: some of the activities I’ve taken on in school and outside of it weren’t because of a burning passion. Hell, I even joined this very society just so that I can add it to my CV - and I can tell you with confidence that I am not alone. That’s the truth many of us don’t say out loud. Extracurriculars in schools have become less about genuine interest and more about curating the perfect University application.

We all know the unspoken rule: grades alone won’t get you very far. Universities want “well-rounded” candidates, and so begins the scramble. Debate team? Check. Volunteering? Check. A competition you joined purely because it sounded impressive? Definitely check. It’s less a pursuit of passion and more an extracurricular arms race, where students measure themselves by the length of their activities list.

The consequence is that authenticity takes a back seat. Instead of throwing ourselves into something we love, we spread thin across countless commitments. We treat clubs, sports, and projects like items in a shopping cart, stacking them high but rarely engaging deeply. The result is often stress, burnout, and the sense that we’re just going through the motions for an audience. 

Of course, extracurriculars in themselves aren’t the problem. At their best, they broaden horizons: sports build resilience, volunteering nurtures empathy, debate sharpens critical thinking. These experiences can be transformative when they’re chosen for the right reasons. But when the motivation shifts- when we ask “Will this look good?” instead of “Do I care about this?”- the meaning is stripped away.

The deeper danger is what this culture does to how we see ourselves. Students start to view their teenage years as performances, carefully curated for applications. We polish an image of the “ideal candidate,” but often at the cost of discovering who we really are. Education becomes less about learning and more about branding.

So here’s a challenge: if there were no CVs, no admissions officers scrutinising our activities, what would we still be doing? Would we continue dragging ourselves to meetings we find boring, or volunteering for causes we barely connect to? Or would we finally choose fewer, more meaningful commitments, the ones that actually spark something real?

Perhaps the solution isn’t rejecting extracurriculars, but reclaiming them. Picking at least one pursuit for the joy of it, not the résumé. Because while a padded CV may help us get through the door, it’s authenticity that makes the experiences, and ourselves, truly worthwhile once we’re inside.