You Matter

How can one be successful?

This has to be the only question repeating in my mind ever since I graduated..

"Class of '18, leaders of tomorrow, I know for a fact you'll be successful in the future."

Every single graduation speech was about success.

Every lecture my parents gave me is till this day about success.

But.

How can one really be successful?

Success- Succeed?- Successful?

Don't I have to understand what success is first?

Every individual out there thinks differently, operates differently.. Some might say success is all about academic standards, acing all your classes and well graduating with a 4.0 gpa. Others might say settling down with your other half and starting a family, or success is truly based on your status and position in the social hierarchy or based on your major. Many say success is linked to the amount of income you generate.

I cannot seem to have a definition to this term, is success linked to the emotional state of the individual? Being happy? Or is it their actions and decisions that they took in their lifetime? To answer this question, I would say it is all of the above, you make success. You might not be a doctor and still be successful,you might not own a flourishing business empire and still be successful. You might not generate millions of dollars and still be successful, you might not be a royal or born into wealth and still be successful. You might not study in a private school and graduate from Harvard and still be successful.

There are no standards to being successful, you create your own standards. You can graduate from a local college and still be successful, you can pick the randomest major and still be successful. You can be the poorest man on this planet and still be successful, you can make 5 dollars an hour and still be successful. You can settle down at fifty and still be happy and successful.

You set your own standards and you live your own life no one will ever live it for you.

My hopes and dreams will not be on the agenda of other people, everyone is passionate about different things. If we were supposed to be the same then we would've been born with the same face, same body, same mentality, same society and we'd be duplicates of one another. However, we were not, every one of us has a sole purpose to accomplish. It is unknown and might never be known, but it is written for us. Create your own path, you do not have to follow anyone's path, you make your own.

Stop trying to follow your parent's/sibling's paths, as even if you chose not to, you'll still be successful. Do not be afraid of mistakes, make them, learn from them and never do them again.

Things did not go right or the way you planned?

Make another plan a

and another

and another..

Do not stop, fall and get up again, there is nothing wrong with that.

Focus on your own self, stop tending to others all the damn time.

People come and go, only the people meant to stay in your life will stay. I promise. Care about them, but do not over do it, do not hold on to a string, that wants to be cut off. Do not be afraid of loss.

Attachment is the worst of all, fear comes with it, a friend would never put you in a position that you might lose them when you did nothing wrong. Learn to think more about yourself, be kind but never over do it. You matter.

You will be there, they might not. Stop sacrificing yourself for others happiness. Stop overthinking your actions, if your intention was never to hurt than you did nothing wrong. You are afraid of hurting someone, you are afraid of mistakes, you are afraid of what they might think.

You are afraid of what you might think.

Build a barrier, protect yourself, list what you want in a mental agenda and reach that goal.

Stop putting people first, your dreams matter.

Your own happiness matters,

You Matter.