COLUMNIST

It would be pretty safe to say that most, if not all, people desire to succeed in life. It is an internal desire every humans share. We all, in short, want to be successful in some fashion. Why wouldn’t we?

Establishments of higher learning such as Fordham persist in preparing students for lives that are gratifying. This end is achieved by preparing students to improve their chances of being successful.

Last year, when I was a graduating high school senior, the thoughts of what life might hold after high school surely raced through my head, and I had that common desire to be successful in any endeavor I might pursue.

I would imagine that the students of Fordham’s graduating class of 2013 have roughly the same thoughts as “12 grade me” had.

I think, however, that so many of us young adults plan on being successful without ever really defining success.

As simple as the word “success” appears, it is a much more complex idea than one might think. The word “success”, in my eyes, can be comparable to the word “dog.” See the resemblance?

I would hope you do not see the resemblance, because visually, the two words are totally dissimilar and do not even share a letter. They are similar, though, in the respect that each word is a general term that can apply to many kinds of variations.

For example, a dalmatian, is a dog, a poodle is a dog, a golden retriever is a dog, etc. Any breed of dog one can imagine is in fact a kind of dog.

Although they are all dogs, however, it is pretty hard to say that a dalmatian is the same as a poodle or that a golden retriever is the same as a shih tzu.

Such is the case for success. Success comes in all different shapes, sizes, color — you name it.

There is a plethora of forms in which success can be recognized; the thing that makes this terribly corny analogy complete is the fact that, like dog breeds, no two ideas of success are identical.

Success does not always mean making a ton of money, but a fat paycheck can be an essential for some.

Being famous or having a recognizable name may be someone’s cup of tea, while some find success in lying low and having a handful of truly good friends.

The list is limitless, and each person’s idea of success is just as unique as each person’s fingerprints. This facet of success is one of the most unique of all.

In a way, success comes only by first identifying what your success entails. Identifying is half the ever-important battle of achieving success.

So, have a fun, safe summer, and much luck to all of the seniors and their futures on the road to success.