My whole life, I was raised in the capitalistic, American version of success passed down from my mother and her parents and their parents, who immigrated to America through Ellis Island.

The American Dream has been my dream for the past 18 years of my life because I never imagined anything else, and if I did, it was always a different sort of dream that felt too far away to ever touch or achieve.

My version of success was spoon-fed to me through a small lens on a systematic scale; assembly line teaching in schools taught me the person next to me was no different than me – we were scores on a bubble-in sheet in a world that taught us creativeness and passion was a hobby, and "real jobs" are only earned through 10 more years of schooling and debt.

I lost my love for reading and writing because of how often I was forced to discuss subjects that my heart didn't truly care about.

Education is one of the most important facets of the human experience, but the American education system isn't about learning. It's about moving from test to test to keep on schedule, to move each assembly line of students up the chain until they're in so much debt without knowing how to pay off a mortgage or fill out their own taxes.

While there's the notion that education enables, it has inhibited so much creativity and it was only until I followed a liberal arts education in college that I could explore my own specific interests, talents, and passions as well as see the paths of the success of alumni and individuals that I cared about.

I was lucky my public high school in NYC tried to foster an open dialogue and a love of uniqueness, but still, the notion of success stayed chained to the system; eight hour days in classes where I excelled but felt stifled.

Now I've learned how important Creative Writing is in my life and I've seen careers using techniques taught in poetry and fiction across a multitude of fields. I've been encouraged to fall in love with the world and explore, both myself and others, and I'm less rushed to pursue eight more years of college to further my career.

I am successful now, as I've always been successful, whether it's academically, socially, or just in following my heart.

The most important part of being successful is being happy.

I've learned that my version of success will not be another person's version of success, and no matter what notions we subscribe to, we may end up being successful in ways we never could imagine.

I am unique; there is no clear path that I will follow, whether it's been walked millions of times or if it's discovered by me because it is my trail.

I no longer try to anticipate where I'm going, only that I know what I love; service, children, writing and reading, and I hope that in the future I hope to live a happy life where I can find joy in doing all of it – whether it's as my job or as my life pursuit. I will no longer be burdened by notions of American success, but instead, I will follow the compass that is inside me.