In this day and age, succeeding without a college degree seems outlandish and impossible. While that means a dedication to education for those still undergoing their studies, it often means returning to or starting college for adults well over college age. Beginning at roughly age twelve, children of the millennial generation are told to decide what they want in life as early as possible and to commit to at least a college level education; if they do not, they will not be able to succeed. Pressures of that aside, if this stigma proves true, what happens to the previous generation, for whom college was a choice? Are they doomed to fail? Not in the slightest. They adapt. They go back to college or start it for the first time. They buckle down, and their work pays off. Despite the growing misconception that the path to late success is laden with obstacles that only few will be able to …show more content…
Mary Ellen Gies and her father before her are not personified examples of a miracle. They did not accomplish the impossible; they accomplished the improbable. The two reaffirm the idea that it is never too late to achieve incredible things. Of course, there is overwhelming evidence which proves that delayed success is definitively more difficult to achieve than early success, but there is nothing which suggests that it is the lesser of the two options. Success is admirable, but not often immediately attainable. On many occasions, one has difficulty defining success. Such a subjective definition often eludes those who search for it until they have past the socially acceptable age for self-discovery and a new beginning. Despite what society tends to indicate, one does not have to get an early start to reach the top. Success has no age limit; it has no expiration date; it has no character requirements. Certainly, beginning the path to success at an older age creates more obstacles along the way, but postponed accomplishment remains in reach for both the average and the