To understand where I am and where I intend to go is realizing the things I am doing right and most importantly the things I am doing wrong. I came to college to become successful. A very common phrase. I came to college for security. A very common phrase. I came to college to be rich. A very common phrase.

I used to think that I was majoring in Genetics and Cell Biology because it was the secure choice, and once medical school was over, I would have stability. I would be successful AND rich, but that’s not what it is about. After coming to college, I realized that I wanted to better myself. I wanted to experience a life away from those who I spent the previous 18 years of my life with. I wanted to experience a life where more is expected from me. I wanted to experience a life with stress, responsibility, rewards. I am striving to become my personal definition of successful. I want to set myself apart from everyone else, but how?

More than once I have had encounters with certain people that bewilder me with their remarkable intelligence or success. There is so much intelligence in this world and the farther I get into my schooling the more encounters I have. Over and over again I wonder why I don’t have the same knowledge or expertise in certain subjects, and over and over again I beat myself up about it. What does it take to become successful, I wonder? What does it take to become confident, I wonder? These amazing individuals don’t have this intelligence because they want to be materialistically rich. These individuals are rich in intelligence because that’s what they find interesting. That’s what they chose to do in their free time, whether it's only 20 minutes, and to better myself that’s what I must do as well.

When I came to college I figured that’s who I had to be in order to become rich and stable. After a couple months, however, I realized quickly that I had to enjoy what I was doing. I have to understand what I’m doing. I have to absorb myself into what I’m doing. I have yet to change my major because I love biology (nerd, I know), but I also added on a journalism minor because I love to write as well. I have continued to try and set myself apart from everyone else, which is surprisingly harder than expected.

I’ve realized that my personality is a huge factor in setting myself apart from others. The drive and confidence I have are two attributes I am very proud of, and they have helped me understand the remarkable attributes I must have to become successful. I am not trying to become like these individuals I have met; I am only trying to find what makes me happy. I want to give back to my amazing family, who have worked diligently to get me where I am, and if I can do that, I consider this all a success. I want to become more creative and I no longer want to be known as a hot mess. I want to have fun, but I also want to be useful to others. It’s hard to find a balance between social, intellectual, and work lives but I have gotten pretty close to an equilibrium and I want to keep it that way. Right now, I would consider myself on the right track to success. I think the key thing to remember when you realize you really care about what kind of person you are trying to become, is to see how you view yourself. You’re your own worst critic, and that’s why when you are finally content with the life choices you are making, you have reached success.

When I say successful, I don’t mean an accomplishment of popularity or profit; I mean happiness and contentedness. I am not striving for wealth, and spending $50,000 a year for an amazing education is insignificant to me. I know that my education will pay off and as long as I am valuable to someone in some way, I find that to be success. I still think about materialistic things; I still stress about money daily, but I know that my goal is success. We all have different roads to take to get there, but I know that I no longer want to criticize myself daily. I want to be a 5-star version of myself.