I’m getting to the point in my life where the real world is starting to set in. I feel the pressures of setting myself up for a successful future. I feel the pressure to be involved in more than I am, to have a better resume, to have a better plan for my future. It scares me that I feel this much pressure already when the pressures of the “real world” are only just beginning. What if it’s already too late to set up my life for success? What even is success? Sometimes I feel like my life is the beginning of the Friends theme song. You know, “your job’s a joke, you’re broke, your love life’s D.O.A” Okay yes, I know that’s incredibly dramatic, but I am excessively hard on myself.

It’s taken me a really long time to truly formulate a genuine definition of success. For so long, I have wanted to do something with my life that would be regarded as “impressive”, something that would make me worthy by society’s distorted standards. For so long, I wanted to have a career that was “brag-worthy”, and this is where the unhealthy internal pressures stemmed from. The pressure and discomfort that I was feeling (and still feel) is because deep down, I think that have always known that I don’t want to live a life like this. Not that I don’t want to have a good job, but I don’t want to live to impress other people. And more importantly, a successful life for me personally is helping other people. I know that what will truly make me a happy and successful person is being the best individual that I can be, day in and day out.

I guess the reason I am writing this is to have, in written form, a promise to myself that I will keep reminding myself what it is that makes me feel happy and successful despite what society thinks “success” is.