Graphic by Lily Upadhyay.
AVA ROEMER | OPINION COLUMNIST | aaroemer@butler.edu
How do you measure success?
For some, success is acquiring a lot of money. For others, it is finding true love; and for a lot of students right now, it is doing well in our classes. But, success in college doesn’t always mean receiving straight A’s.
We have been conditioned to strive for academic perfection because that has a huge impact on the college you go to. It’s been expected of us to get flawless grades or write the perfect essay, and in doing so, it will mean automatic success. None of this is inherently wrong; however, we should strive for something more than academic perfection.
We’re asked to reach a super high academic standard, but when we fall short, we look down on ourselves and our abilities. Academic burnout or stress is extremely detrimental to young people and has a negative effect on mental health.
Reaching success in college is about truly living in it. We cannot spend all of our free time studying and doing homework. We have to find new hobbies, try new food, read more books, meet new people, listen to strange music, fall in love a few times and explore life.
Focusing on the balance of work and play seems easy, but it takes discipline and accountability. Having an assignment due the night of a game at Hinkle means completing it before the game, so you don’t have to gamble on the 11:59 p.m. deadline after.
Senior environmental studies major Eloise Ayotte discussed how success is more than just your academic life.
“We’re not conditioned to really think of success outside of academic life,” Ayotte said. “I feel very at peace when I’m with my close social circles and I’m grateful for that. That feels like I’ve achieved success in finding the right people.”
Ayotte suggested that finding success can look like meeting the people who make you feel comfortable with being your true self. Yes, having good grades is an accomplishment, but if you don’t have anyone to share that good news with or celebrate with, does it really feel that fulfilling?
Evan Bryan, a first-year criminology and psychology combined major, explained what reaching success looks like.
“Social success is knowing that I have a support system and knowing I have people to reach out to,” Bryan said. “That would revolve around me purposefully putting myself in positions to meet new people and making myself available to other people so I can develop friendships and connections.”
Sometimes it is hard and even scary to put ourselves out there in college. With all the new people, ideas, beliefs and perspectives, being yourself can seem vulnerable when meeting strangers. However, it is important to challenge ourselves to do so because that is how we find lifelong friends.
English professor Chris Forhan gave advice on navigating through college by reflecting on his own time at a university.
“I define success as making use of the experiences college gives you in order to truly test what it is you care about, and then find out how to pursue that thing,” Forhan said. “Pay attention to how you’re feeling and if your whole academic life is making you miserable, then you’ve got to rebalance things somehow.”
Forhan touches on two huge topics: taking full advantage of college and helping yourself out when things get hard.
Because we are already here at college, we might as well make the most of it. We should take as many different kinds of classes as possible, go to all the basketball games, say yes to all the hangouts and absolutely strive to learn and grow from our mistakes.
The other thing Forhan talked about is essentially cutting back when you feel the stress of college life is unbearable. Being here at college — away from my home and family — has made me realize that I have to take care of myself. I have made friends and connections, so I do have a support system, but in general, I am the sole caretaker of myself and for many of us, that’s new and different.
My biggest takeaway from college thus far is that success comes down to balance. Sometimes, I have to skip the reading for my classes because my body is too exhausted to consume anything else for the day. Other times, I have to take a full day off from friends, school and work in order to recharge. These aren’t bad practices — they’re how we balance and survive college.
