What I consider a successful life

By Spencer Pauley, Copy Editor 

Are the expectations we set for ourselves too high?

Maybe not all of us will go on to do life-changing work in the future, but that doesn’t mean we won’t be successful.

I read an article by the New York Times titled, “You’ll Never Be Famous—And That’s O.K.” The article discussed that too many college students have extraordinary aspirations.

Not every student is going to become the owner of a multibillion dollar franchise, star in a movie franchise, publish a best-seller or make the next big scientific discovery, but students often set high goals like these for themselves.

With goals like that, disappointment might be inevitable. But it just seems wrong to “settle for something smaller” when it comes to my life after OWU.

Then the author of the New York Times article, Emily Smith, said, “The most meaningful lives, I’ve learned, are often not the extraordinary ones. They’re the ordinary ones lived with dignity.”

There is more to life than how much you make, where you live and what kind of car you own. It’s about the respect you’ve earned from those you’ve met that matters more in life.

The satisfaction people have in life does not come from the material goods they obtain, but from the people around them. Whether that be family, friends, or coworkers.

Once you realize that you’re genuinely happier when you’re with the people who you love and love you back, then you know your life is full of success. So as each of us students continue our time here at OWU, understand that it’s not going to be the end of the world if you don’t reach your ultimate goal in life. Work hard and take life in stride, we’ll be all right.