Success is...

A couple of weeks ago, I went camping by myself to have some time to reflect over the priorities in my life. Although no life-altering epiphanies occured, I did manage to map out the coming months. One committment that I have made is to write regular articles for the university newspaper, The Link.

As you are aware, I love to write and what better way to access more readers than through a free newspaper. So everything that I write for The Link, whether they accept the articles or not, will be posted here.

My first one was accepted... yippee! Here it is.





Welcome back to school, kids. If this is your first semester, then I hope Concordia turns out to be everything that you had expected. If this is your last semester, then I hope it passes with minimal stress, and that you smoothly transition onto whatever awaits you next.

No matter who you are, chances are that you are here at university to prepare yourself for some sort of career or place within the “real world”. Is that not what post-secondary school is all about, to groom us into intellects and capable businessmen, nurses, and scientists? Within the walls of this institution we shall be taught to be “successful” human beings.

But what is success anyway?

For some of us, it will include achieving good grades and graduating at the top of our classes. For others it will be making new friends, balancing a 40-hour workweek with classes, or managing to not vomit after shot-gunning that ninth beer during orientation week. Whatever success is, it will be surely measured in a truly personal way.

Despite previous post-secondary experiences, when I started at Concordia last year, I have to admit that I was somewhat nervous. I received many invitations from the Student Success Center to partake in pre-semester tours, First-Year student seminars, and the “College Student Inventory™” (or CSI for short). It became evident that the folks at the Student Success Center really wanted me to succeed.

I went ahead and did the CSI, half out of a desire to “succeed” and half out of a fear that if I skipped out, then fucked up at school, I would have only myself to blame. Upon completion, I was taken into a small, windowless room with a handful of seemingly delinquent Dawson College kids and advised to prepare myself for the hardships of university. I was in the big leagues now.




Interestingly, one of the recommendations from the CSI was to “Discuss attitude towards school with counselor”. I found this fascinating. According to my CSI results, I had supposed doubts about the value of a post-secondary education. They were absolutely right; the CSI had interrogated me, and I was guilty of a mild case of university apathy.

For myself, the idea of being a “successful” person was not linked to whether or not I completed university. Now don’t get me wrong, I am still here at school, writing papers and buying textbooks. I am investing in a university education because on some level I believe that it will be beneficial to my personal evolution. I also acknowledge that higher grades tend to equate further opportunity down the road. But there are many paths to personal success, and I think it is important to acknowledge that school is a valid choice, but not the only choice.

Ironically, as university has taught me to think critically, I have used these skills to be objective in regards to the very hand that feeds me. So if I could be so audacious as to pass on some unsolicited advice to you, it would be to think about success outside of the classroom. As you rack up the credits, pass countless hours researching in the library, and frantically cram for exams, try to keep a certain perspective. Try to remember that success could simply be the ability to step back and realize one’s worth regardless of the certificates, degrees, or doctorates that we receive at university.