Success is the best revenge; a phrase often said yet rarely executed. The act of “getting back at someone” is often associated with some sort of negative repercussion. Not only do we find it necessary to seek our revenge, but we also find satisfaction in inflicting vengeance on someone with such vindictive spirits. Why do we find pleasure in doing this? Seeking revenge on someone gives a negative representation of oneself while leaving us with a sense of short-term comfort. Despite it’s negative association, the term revenge can also be affiliated with positive acts. In fact, the most satisfactory way I ever sought my revenge on someone was by proving him wrong with my success.

I've always known that I wanted to and would prosper in life, but the road to achieving this was very bumpy at first. Despite my accomplishments, there were still people fixated on the miniscule afflictions I've encountered throughout my life. One time in particular, I was approached by a friend of mine who informed me of another friend speaking very ill of me. I was enraged by this and decided that the next time I saw this person I would approach him on the matter very aggressively. I was even looking forward to unleashing my fury on him. A few days later I saw him at a friend's house and he approached me. As soon as the words, “How are you?” left his mouth, I chose to take the conversation in a much different direction than originally planned.

I began telling him how I was about to move to Boston and start classes at Emerson College. He then asked in an undermining tone, “But isn’t that like, a really good school?” I not only responded with a yes, but I also informed him how I recently accepted an internship and was offered a leadership position for it. At the end of the conversation, he walked away with a priceless look on his face while I left with the biggest smile on mine.

I can’t explain the sense of pride I felt that day. Instead of getting into an argument, I chose to represent myself in such a way that would leave him with no reason to speak poorly of me again. If I went with my original plan of attack, I would have left that conversation unresolved and feeling upset. Instead, I chose to ambush him with my successes and the satisfaction I felt at that moment was inexplicable.

Proving someone wrong is a great feeling, especially when it’s directly related to yourself. Sometimes our immaturity and desire to wrong someone takes over, but the ultimate form of revenge is holding your head high and furthering your successes every single day.