Senior Sendoff #4: Competiton

 Let me start out this 4th installment of senior sendoff by saying I love competition. I think competition makes things exciting and helps to establish camaraderie among teammates. However, a fine line divides healthy and unhealthy competition. A point comes when competition overshadows the original goal of an organization or an event.
 
If there’s one thing I learned as a music major during my freshmen year, it was that “There’s always someone better than you.” It was drilled into my head that I was in competition with everyone in my class. Throughout my four years here at CMU, though, I’ve realized this is not just the mindset among music majors. I have witnessed a similar way of thinking in all sectors of Carnegie Mellon. Academic honor societies, student governing organizations, and student service organizations compete over funding. Dance performance and A Cappella groups compete over attendance, late night events, and how they view each other. Greek organizations compete in recruitment, status, Greek Sing, and Booth. At times an environment driven by competition can cause some to lose site of why they initially joined an organization.  On the other hand, it is CMU’s competitive drive that makes us one of the best universities in the nation.
 
As I’ve mentioned in previous articles, I’m innately competitive.  I create competition where there isn’t any. So when I had the opportunity to be a Greek Sing chair for my sorority I couldn’t pass it up. For those of you who don’t know what that it is, Greek Sing is an annual fundraiser and competition hosted by Carnegie Mellon’s Greek Community in which sororities and fraternities compete against each other by performing a thirteen-minute version of a musical. Greek organizations, although originally formed as social organizations, have traditionally valued philanthropy and service towards others. I’ve seen incredible shows from our Greek organizations and I’m amazed at how talented we are as a community. Every year, however, the competition between houses becomes more intense. In my three years as Greek Sing chair, I’ve heard and witnessed chairs screaming at their members, girls crying from the stress, organizations holding rehearsals until 3am, and tensions between competing Greek organizations so thick you could cut it with a knife.
 
Now I can’t say that I was totally innocent of not joining the competitive frenzy.
As Greek Sing chair, it was my goal to inspire my peers to perform amazing shows. First and foremost, I wanted my house to have fun. In addition, I wanted to build camaraderie among other sororities and fraternities. Each year, however, the competitive mindset appeared.  I would make myself stressed to the point where I was not sleeping, having anxiety attacks and only focusing on Greek Sing.  I had to win.  It came to a point where I would avoid talking to my friends in organizations that I was competing against. This is something I regret wholeheartedly. I lost sight of the reason why I decided to be a chair: to ensure my sorority had fun and bonded with a new fraternity every year.
 
As the Greek Sing season began this year, I took a more relaxed approach. My house had decided to pair up with an organization that cares about Greek Sing, but values having fun over placing.  Initially this mindset took me out of my comfort zone, but once I accepted this new point of view I was able to see the overall competition in a new light. Winning feels good for the moment and a trophy in the house is a nice reminder, but it is the process of building relationships and lasting memories that is most rewarding.  Sure, if your organization wins you earn bragging rights for two weeks. But that pleasure fades. The true accomplishment is knowing that the Greek Community raised over $55,000 for the Children’s Institute. This was evident when there was a unified applause from the Greek Community when the check was presented to the Children’s Institute representative. For me, this was my moment of clarity.  If every organization that competed in Greek Sing focused on why we hold this competition and on having fun, there would be a lot less tension during second semester.
 
There’s nothing wrong with healthy competition. Competition inspires an organization to strive to reach its fullest potential. If we lose site of the true goal, though, we may not realize our accomplishments as a community. Crossing the line between healthy and unhealthy competition means putting winning, as well as and being the best, above friendships with people in competing organizations. The first place standing and trophy may be the end result, but enjoying the process and remembering the underlying goal can have equally rewarding returns.
 
For me it was during this year’s Greek Sing that I finally was able to see the fine line between healthy and unhealthy competition. It was a hard lesson to learn, but I’m glad it finally got through to me.  Ultimately we each set the tone and decide if our competitive nature will overshadow the goal of an organization or an event. Remember, though: you’ll get the best returns if you balance competition with camaraderie.