By Amanda Cross, Student at the University of Central Arkansas

Success is something that every human being strives for, regardless of what they consider to be success.

College students define success in so many different ways, and this blog only touches on a few of them.

Getting the Best of Your Education

For the most part, college is the first time many of us have actually had to pay for our education.

Courtney, a sophomore at the University of Central Arkansas, described success as, "The feel-good feeling you get when you leave a class feeling like you actually learned something."

Having to actually pay for your education is a catalyst for wanting to do well in class. Some of my best professors have been the ones that challenged me the most. I can't say that I did fantastic in those classes, but when I left, I knew that each and every day I pulled something new from those classes. You feel successful when you know that even though you aren't getting the ‘A’ you wanted, you feel more knowledgeable every time you leave the class.

Accomplishing Your Goals

When asked the question of what success meant to her, Kimberly, a junior at Lyon College, said, "Success is the feeling of accomplishment when completing any short or long-term goal."

Whether you want to admit it or not, when you came to college for your first year, you had expectations. When you can meet or even exceed the expectations you set for yourself, it is definitely a success in itself.

“Success is when you feel like your goal is almost impossible to reach but strive for it with all your being and come out the victor,” Kimberly said.

The sweetest success for me as a college student comes when I have doubt that a certain thing will happen, and then against all odds, I was able to pull it off. It really helps when you can prove yourself wrong time and time again.

Being Independent

Going to college is a fun, testing time where you’re torn between living on your own and still being attached to your parents.

“Success is being able to hold my own and knowing that I can take care of myself without anyone helping,” said Lauryn, an incoming freshman at the University of Central Arkansas.

College is definitely a great time to experiment with being on your own and when you are able to actually balance a checkbook, pay bills and not overdraft your banking account, you are on the road to becoming a successful adult.

Being Happy with What You’re Doing

Of all the most successful things I can think of as a person, I think the biggest feeling of success comes when you are doing something that makes you feel happy. As functioning members of society, we always try to do the things that are the most stable, even if they don’t make us the happiest.

For me, writing was the one thing that made me the happiest, but I didn’t think going into it was the best idea. After about a year of doing something that I wasn’t really that interested in, I decided to take a leap and go after what made me the happiest.

Doing something that makes you happy makes you the most successful person in the world.

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