Looking up at the ceiling, Na He Jeon pours porridge into her mouth. She carefully dips the bowl forward, dropping the porridge directly down her throat, careful not to touch the 15 ulcers  in her mouth. But it was the week before midterms, so she still had to study. Jeon was 1st out of 330 students on her exams that year. "Thank god I did," she says. "If I hadn't done well I would have been regarded as a failure." By the end of the week, 14-year-old Jeon weighed only 83.6 pounds. Like Jeon, there are countless numbers of first generation Asian-Americans who make great efforts to go beyond at everything. Yet the children themselves cannot all be put to blame for their efforts. Typically, it is the parents who are designing a life which they see as perfect for their children. One such occurrence is when I was at my hotel in Beijing. It was roughly around 8:00 p.m. when I decided to take a dip in the pool after dinner. I jumped into the pool that was already spotted with a few Chinese children and I hadn't realized what was going on until I took notice of the parents calling out orders and instructing their children. I saw various children all under the age of 10 taking laps across the pool trying various styles. If a child's foot was too bent, her parent would demand that she straighten it. If a child was kicking too slowly, his parent would order that he go faster. I couldn't help but pity the children whose parents were taking the opportunity to give a swimming lesson, rather than just let them enjoy their time during the holiday. Either because of their parents or their own desire, first-generation Asian-Americans put forth their 110% in order to be accepted into one of the best American colleges. Asian-American students want to see A's, 100%'s, and perfect scores. According to Jeon, Asians complain that students with a 4.0 GPA and 2400 SAT simply cannot be rejected from top schools. To their disappointment, however, they often are. The ethic  of this aggressive work also exhibits itself via sports and other after-class activities. What sets Asian-Americans apart, however, is that they fight to be excellent in whatever it is that they do. Be it playing the piano or performing in math competitions, Asian-Americans look to be in first place. Although it may cause unnecessary stress, such a driven work ethic is a _ quality. Often blamed for lacking in creativity, Asian-Americans can actually make up for the absence of imagination with their determination. The average American can dream creative dreams, but that only matters if he or she can make it happen in reality. Asian-Americans, instead, can gather creative ideas to produce something concrete. Yet with such a drive to succeed, Asian-Americans have somehow twisted their definition of success. Rather than looking at personal achievement, they refer to numbers, statistics and scores to rate their success. It seems as if desire and the sense of free will are nonexistent in certain Asian-American students as they mercilessly drive themselves to an inevitable burnout. Their desire to be the most-talented is an impossible dream. In a fruitless attempt, they try to be the best in a world already full of winners. The writer's purpose of writing this article is to   _  .
express sympathy for Asian-American children advocate academic competition among students stress that personal success means more than high scores analyze the problems in school education