College Admissions Essay: My Definition Of Success

Words: 522
Pages: 3

Growing up in school when things go tough or it was hard to focus I remember my teachers saying “Don’t you want to be successful? You have to do your work!” I always said yes I do and would go back to work but I don’t know that I ever really considered what the teacher meant by the word success, or for that matter, what I thought success meant to myself. In adolescence it seems like the American ideology is thrust upon us that success means making lots of money. We go to school so we can get an education so we can get a good job so we can make lots of money and be successful. I used to follow that mass ideology but then I broadened my horizons and found that this cookie cutter dream does not have to be my idea of success. Sure, I wouldn’t mind making lots of money, who would? But in my years living on a budget I must say I’ve never really felt unsuccessful. The only times I even came close was when I had broken relationships or I felt alone in the world with nowhere to …show more content…
What drives us? What motivates us to want this abstract concept of success? Then I remembered something I had heard all those years ago from a teacher in a classroom. We were learning about Aristotle, and his theory on what people really want in their life. To be happy. I asked myself; when do I feel the most successful? The answer was when I’m happy. That’s what I have decided is a true measure of success. Success is doing things in your life that make you happy; things that offer fulfillment and joy. I can say in all honesty that sitting in a call center dos not make me feel successful. I want to educate children. In order to do that, I need a degree. Therefore this college experience will make me feel successful. SFFA seems like the prfect place ot start my journey to success. I knw they will support me and help me gain the skills that I need to do what makes me happy. Success equals happiness, and hat’s an equation I would be happy to teach to the