Success is something everyone hopes to achieve. We all have goals, short- or long-term, that we aim to accomplish, but success is hard. It takes a lot of work and determination. From the outside, it's easy to judge that some people are more successful than others. That's where things get tricky. The only person that should be able to define what success means to you is you. That fact is often forgotten and people seem to feel the need to provide their own input on your life decisions.
My Freshman Year: Freshman year is a formative foundation for the rest of your college life. Within the first few weeks, my classes were going well and I had started making friends. One day I was already feeling really cool riding in the University's official free shuttle a la mini van. The driver was another student, and we shared some small talk. She asked what my major was (who hasn't asked been asked that 100 times?), and I told her that I was really excited to be studying Screenwriting. She looked at me through the rear view mirror and said, "Oh cool, I came in as a Screenwriting major but I decided to switch to something more practical." Oh cool, I don't remember asking if you thought my major was practical or not, but thanks for the vote of confidence.
A Few Weeks Ago: I'm a fairly frequent flyer since I have family all over the country. With my luck, I tend to get seated next to a talker on my longer flights. As I was traveling over break, a seemingly nice man sat next to me on my plane ride back to school. He made a joke about airplanes; I laughed. We had started talking about our lives when he asked what I was studying at school. When I told him I was a Screenwriting major, he gave a smug look and said "Well, you should probably come up with Plan B. My brother has been trying to get into the industry for 15 years and he still hasn't made it." I didn't even have time to respond before he had a new idea sparked in his head. "I have a great story about myself as a child that I've always thought would great movie, I'll be brief." He spent the next hour and a half telling me a tale of his youth and when he finally finished, he joked that I should turn his story into a movie.
I'd be lying if I said that these and other situations did not hurt my feelings and strike a heavy blow to my confidence, but the people who feel the need to share their unsolicited advice about my future don't matter. Their words slipped off their tongues and they went on with their lives not knowing the effect that they had. They are not my future employer or my parents or my friends. Most importantly, they are not me. I define my own success. Some days it can be as simple as dragging myself out of bed and going to class when I really don't want to. Other days, it's making progress on a screenplay. My success is my own. People may give their advice on what you have accomplished or what you plan to accomplish, but they have no idea how far you've come or how close you are to your goal. If you let other people define your success, you probably won't find what you're looking for.
