“Do less.”
I had never heard this particular phrase before I arrived on Notre Dame’s campus three weeks ago, but the sentiment was familiar. Trying hard is bad. Putting in effort is deplorable. In general, apathy reigns because it means you’re “too cool to care.”
I’m not entirely sure when caring became so looked down upon, but it is especially abhorred in the following divisions: clothing, homework, and friendliness.
There’s a girl in my French class who looks like she stepped out of a J. Crew magazine everyday. She is preppy, polished, and undeniably put together. Obviously, she puts effort into her personal style and totally rocks it. But in the halls I’ll hear snippets of conversations from girls talking about how she’s “trying too hard” and needs to “do less.” Are you just jealous because she looks cuter than us? Some people are more comfortable when they’re dressed up, just like some people feel best in sweats and a hoodie. Stop hatin’ because their outfits are consistently on point.
Another aspect where people “try too hard” is homework. These individuals have a good start on the week’s homework before it’s even begun and are rarely stressed out because their time management skills are so well developed. Much like in high school, they’re considered nerds and try-hards. This is dumb, dear reader, because we attend the University of Notre Dame, which is currently ranked at #16 on U.S. News and World Report’s list of top national universities; everyone here is a giant raging nerd, that’s how they got in. At this point, if you’re getting angry that their life is more together than your’s, you’re just being bitter, probably due to sleep deprivation.
“He just tries too hard to be friendly.” I may be biased on this one; I’m a pretty timid and quiet person, so I desperately cling to friendly people in new situations, because they’re able to keep the conversation going until I finally find my tongue and remember how to speak to strangers. While I understand that some people (girls in particular) get creeped out by a certain breed of male who is uncomfortably familiar and often touchy too soon, I’m not referring to those people. I’m referring to those happy-go-lucky, all inclusive, smiley, delightful, crafted from sunshine individuals who make awkward situations just a little bit easier for the rest of us. Unless someone has come up with a way to make friends without be friendly, in which case, please contact me immediately. Asking for a friend…
The idea that people who are trying are somehow less than those who can’t be bothered to give a hoot is incomprehensible to me. I dress like a hobo a few times a week, never have my homework done at a reasonable hour, and cannot be bothered to be friendly because I’m awful at it and it just ends up making everyone involved feel vaguely uncomfortable. Am I slightly (incredibly) jealous of people who are better at these than I am? You can bet your butt I am, but it doesn’t mean I think they should “do less;” it means I should probably “do more.”
To sum up, take some advice from one of the greatest cinematic characters of the early 2000s, Kevin Gnapoor:
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