Definition Essay Success

1761 Words8 Pages

What Do You Think Success Looks Like? So what does success look like? According, to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary success is a: “degree or measure of succeeding;” and “favorable or desired outcome; the attainment of wealth, favor, or eminence; one that succeeds” (“Success”). Success was first introduced in 1537 as a Latin word successus, from succedere and the meaning of the definition has remained the same throughout history. When thinking about success society looks at income, job status, their home, are they famous, or what kind of car they drive. These luxuries can be important to some people but are not always the key to success. There are many little things that make a person successful.
Success can take many shapes and forms …show more content…

Winston Churchill was quoted as saying, “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts” (“Winston Churchill Quotes”). A student may feel like he/she have failed but, persevere through the rough patch and come out on the other side refreshed and renewed. Today students have peer pressure, financial instability, and academic challenges. They may be just out of high school and still finding their way, a single parent wanting to do the best for their child(ren), or someone full filling a dream from long ago but never had the time. Students like most of America think that to be successful a person may be a movie star, or President of a company on Wall Street. What the student might not realize yet is that by attaining their goal they have succeeded. It takes a lot of hard work, communicating, adjusting, or changing things in their lives to get past the feeling like a failure and to overcome the obstacles necessary to reach their goals. Self-regulation also involves setting and reaching goals. Roy Baumeister, in his report on improving competence across the lifespan: “To succeed in life, people must manage themselves effectively, which involves setting appropriate goals and then making themselves carry out the steps to achieve them. Often this involves persisting in the face of failures or setbacks” (“Self-regulation as a”). Student doing everything they …show more content…

My brother who was at times reclusive married a woman from China; who he met through the internet. They had been talking through this chat room for about two years; then he asked her to marry him, sight unseen. Of course, having four sisters who were all mothers, we were concerned about this arrangement. All kinds of questions like what if she is part of a drug organization, or what if she is just luring him over to China and he will be held there, or what if she just wants his money even though he is not a rich person but comfortable. We had never heard about marrying someone they had never met. My mother and I went with him to China for their marriage and of course in our minds to protect him from what we had no idea and what could we really do if a problem arose. When we got off the plan we were greeted by her family and her son. The whole family turned out to be very nice and friendly. It took my brother two years after their wedding to get her to the United States. China officials talked with his family, friends, and employer to make sure he could provide for and her son. Neither my brother’s wife nor her son spoke much English and we spoke no Chinese, yet we all somehow communicated. They both signed up for as many English classes as they could prior to coming to American and once they arrived. Her son who took the American name of James was able to speak decent English before going to high school his