Opinion Piece: What is True Success?

Written by: Serra Elayda (‘28)

If someone were to ask you what type of future you aspired to have, what would you say? Most likely, your answer would be along the lines of, “All I want is a successful future”. This answer isn’t a bad one, but what does a successful future look like to you? How would you know if you reached that accomplishment of true success? For some people, it means financial prosperity; for others it means finding love or happiness. However, some don’t have a clear view of what it means in their mind. If you were to ask me though, true success is achieved when you reach a point of self acceptance and satisfaction of the person you have grown to be. The truth is, the idea of success looks different for everyone since we all have different goals. You could force yourself to study hard to get good grades, get into a good college, get a good job, and become the best at what you do. But even with all that hard work that you pushed yourself to accomplish all those years, if you’re not happy with what you’re doing: Are you truly successful? Educationally and financially, yes, but if you have no sense of fulfillment then you really haven’t given yourself a successful life.

If you’re going to put hard work into something, it should be for a goal that you truly want to achieve. Find your passions and the things that make you who you are and invest your time into them. Keep striving for what you want and when you reach the point that you’re able to tell yourself, “I’m proud of the person that I have become”, then you know that you have achieved success. The perfect future that everyone dreams of having isn’t a singular definition since you’re the only one who knows what you really want. No one can tell you that the only way to be ‘successful’ is if you follow a specific path because you’re the one walking your path and can choose what’s in the finish line. The future that you should aspire to have is one that you know you can be happy in. A future where you’re happy is a future that you most definitely deserve.