As an incoming freshman, the concept of success is constantly floating around in my head. How will I obtain success? Do I need to take a certain class? What professor should I get to know? Is there a certain group I need to be a part of? When I look to the successful people of today, I don’t find a detailed flow chart of how they got from Point A to Point B -- from “nobody” to “somebody.” In fact, it seems that many of the people the world deems as successful ... have followed one of these two paths:
The Dropout: one who does not complete high-school or college because they are failing their classes or “just aren’t feeling” the college lifestyle, only to realize after dropping out that they’re super-geniuses that can develop softwares and technologies that the world will continue to use until the end of time.
OR
The Millionaire: one who relies heavily on the influence of their financial situation to obtain success (what comes to the forefront of my mind is Donald Trump’s infamous statement: “My father gave me a small loan of one million dollars…”).
Now, I know these are two extremes, but these two extremes definitely exist. Consider them on the opposite sides of a straight line: one extreme on one end of the line, and the other extreme on the point at the opposite end. Every single one of us fits on that spectrum somewhere. We are constantly being pushed towards this societal standard of “make it, and make it big.” This “classic” American success story, to me, isn’t all that inspiring. It’s daunting. Right now, I am planning on majoring in professional writing and rhetoric. My end goal is to become a developmental editor. I am pretty sure that this is what I want to do with my life, because reading and editing are things that I like to spend my time on. I can see myself excelling in this occupation. As I get closer and closer to starting school, however, I have found myself doubting the decisions I have made. I find myself thinking, “Do I need to be able to develop software? Should I have dropped out of high-school? Am I not aware of my full potential? Will the major I’ve chosen bring me success?” On and on, it goes.
Success has been defined by Merriam Webster as, “The fact of getting or achieving wealth, respect, or fame.” Does my desired occupation line up with this definition of success?
Wealth: as an editor, I might not be incredibly wealthy at first. Heck, as a graduate I know I won’t be wealthy. I’m already preparing myself for that.
Respect: respect is something that has to be earned; it would not be something I get as soon as I step into my first job.
Fame: I am 99 percent certain editing won’t bring me fame.
At this point, my chosen field does not match up with the dictionary’s definition of success. At least, not yet.
As a rather extreme over-thinker, my mind runs rampant with these thoughts and questions about the success of my future. When it starts to overwhelm me, however, I have to take a step back and ask myself, “Okay, you know the official definition of success. But what is your definition of success?” Now there’s a question that brings me back to my senses. To me, success is measured by how much you love what you do. Success is measured by how fulfilling your occupation is to you. We also need to take into account the impact we can have on others. As long as I am doing what I love every day, instead of viewing my job as a chore, even dreading it, then I am successful. As long as I am helping other people to be the best they can be, then I am successful.
The world measures success by numbers: how successful you are is dependent on how much money you make, how big your house is, how many cars you have … the list goes on. I see this worldly measure of success and I realize that I want nothing to do with it. Now, I’m not saying I wouldn’t take pay raise in my future occupation if it were offered to me. My point is, I want to work because of the things I am doing for other people, not because of how much I am making for myself.
My measurement of success sure doesn’t line up with society’s guidelines, but I am coming to realize that’s okay. At the end of the day, I realize that I’d rather be doing what I love and living on little than doing something I hate and living on much.
