My Success My Dreams: My Point of View
By Aiman Farhan
http://aiman-farhan.blogspot.com
Out of all the entries out there, one is bound to define success in the plain ol' dictionary terms. Be it to have fame, wealth, and any attributes which makes you feel on top of the world.
I checked my email, and after coming through this contest, I sort of had an epiphany. Sort of. Usually, when having to write an essay on success, one will probably shout out a big hoo-hah to finally realize what they've always wanted for themselves. But, that didn't necessarily happen for me, though. I had a deep gut feeling for one particularly disturbing reason.
That definition of “success” up there, yes, that's how I and practically everyone else I possibly know would want. Come on now, don't disagree. Wouldn't you sound like a hypocrite by saying that you won't settle down knowing that you have financial independence, and not have to worry about life's insecurities, economic recessions, and the mumbo jumbo working life has to offer?
Try asking most people what they want out of life and the answer is simple - to be successful. Maybe it's this expectation though of wanting to be just successful that prevents us from ever getting there. Maybe the more we try to will ourselves to a state of bliss, the more confused we get - to the point where we don't recognize ourselves. Until it eventually hits us, it's been there all along.
I thought, and thought again. S-U-C-C-E-S-S.
Not everyone in this world can be as famous as everyone else, then no one will be, right? So, that idea is way off. I guess to be content with what life's got to offer, and yet still yearning for more everyday, now that is what success is all about. Don't get me wrong, being ridiculously rich with fame hand-in-hand is icing on the cake, but I don't mind being just the Average Joe once I grow up, and live a humble and happy life. I'm down with that.
If someone did ask “what matters to you?” in a more literal way, say profession or career wise, and at this checkpoint of my life, I would bluntly go “ I don't know” with the wittiest Malaysian accent one has ever heard. That's why I sort of envy my peers who know what they want to be. Ironic isn't it, seeing that this contest was supposed to be about writing an entry that will inspire respective peers?
But, I suppose this goes out to all the teenagers walking in the same shoes, filled with dilemma on the enormous question of “what to be when I grow up?”
I keep telling myself, “Don't let others tell you what not to be?” “Hey man, you don't look like a lawyer-lah” or “Are you sure? You have to read a lot to be a doctor” are just some of the many conversations that hurdle up to me. I might say I want to be a doctor now (or, apparently, an astronaut, when I was 4), but sometimes, I imagine myself in a university in The Big Apple, majoring in creative writing.
So, being successful is to know that I lead my own life, my own career, and the decision to settle down in a field is all up to me. And when I realize that, a part of success I have obtained.
What I'm about to say after this would sound cliché and corny, but corny stuffs are the way it is because it's true, most of the time. A part of success for me should see a life of bliss in whatever I do, but beyond all that, should bring about impact in another person's life.Every time I catch Oprah on her TV show, I'm constantly bewildered by the fact that one person can create a movement, build a school, and make lives around the world a little bit better. A successful career shouldn't revolve around a 9 to 5 basis, but should mean a whole lot more.
As much as I like it to be my way, I can't do everything. But whatever it is, a garden patch, a healthy society, or just by knowing that even one life had breathed easier because I lived, then, I'm successful.
Now, 800 words seem too little.
The last bit.
As I grow up, life's success would not be complete without knowing that at times of failure, there's a home to go back to, whether it's my parent hometown, or to my future family that I build. For comfort, safety, and love.
So, how am I going to achieve all this? Well, staying up late at night to study for SPM says something, right? And I suppose, make right decisions in life, and not really regret the wrong ones.
That matters to me. What matters to you?
Others
