Which Direction Are YOU Going?

I know I said that this was a blog on natural hair, but there is always way too many thoughts going through my head to only focus on one subject. So periodically I will be going off topic but I guess I am allowed to do that because this iiiiisssss MY blog after all :P

After speaking to a friend about some of her troubles, it got me thinking. And oh boy, once I start thinking, it just doesn’t end. Last night, I stayed up until about 3 in the morning just staring at the ceiling which, by the way, I am paying for now since I had to be up at 5:30 SMH. 

I am the type of person that will hold on to a thought or a mere idea until I am able to give an automatic response or resolve the situation right away. So the topic of my solo mental discussion last night was: SUCCESS.

How do YOU define success?

Some people say that success is having a lot of money and living in a house that could be featured on MTV’s Cribs.  Other people think that happiness determines success. Does money equate to success? Does walking around every day with a smile on your face mean you’re successful?

I recently graduated from college with a Bachelor’s Degree that I believe will lead me to a path of success. But I am having a hard time figuring out what that success will consist of. Right now you could say that I am at a state of limbo. I just graduated from college and I don’t exactly have the job of my dreams yet. 

I have a lot of friends who are also recent college graduates that work for top companies, hospitals, and universities or are engaging in prestigious and award-winning graduate programs.  So my question is, because these particular people are at that point in their lives while I’m still trying to reach that point, does that make me unsuccessful?

Well, I don’t really need anyone to answer this question for me because I already know the answer, NO. In fact, HELL NO. Just because you haven’t reached a place where you feel has deemed you as successful, does not mean you are a failure.

Here are a few characteristics that describe me as well as the people who I surround myself with:

College graduate or a semester or two away from obtaining a degree

Has a GPA over a 2.8

Has received some type of award(s)

Has been accepted to some sort of organization or university

Has more than one job on their resume

Has never been arrested

IS ALIVE AND WELL

… The list goes on.

Though these characteristics are something that most people are expected to have, a lot of people don’t.  Be grateful for EVERYTHING you have achieved and STOP complaining! I have been guilty of asking “Why me?” when something doesn’t go my way, but the real question to ask is “Why not?”  Everything we go through, we go through for a reason. A lot of circumstances come to us as a lesson in disguise. Take some time to unmask that lesson and learn from it.

The moral of this story is to NEVER compare your success to others. Yes, life can get frustrating. We don’t always get what we want.  But as long as you believe in what YOU’RE doing, you’ll end up exactly where you want to be. Though there are many definitions to SUCCESS, one thing that I think we can all agree on, you will never reach success without hard work and doing what you have to do for YOU and only YOU!