Teen Talk
ACHS freshman explores the meaning of success
By Rora Oh Special to the Acorn

First in a monthly series offering perspectives from high school students

After completing four years at Adolfo Camarillo High School, most students will head for college believing that a college degree will automatically steer them to the road of success.

Colleges offer students an almost unlimited number of options to succeed, but going to one doesn't guarantee you will become a successful person, because education doesn't guarantee success.

Going to college is like training to extend your abilities so that your abilities will help you attain your heart's most desired goals.

That's why the first step in achieving true success in life is to set goals. After all, goals are really what motivate people to be successful.

So what is success?

I asked what Cam High students thought the meaning of success was, and they all had similar comments, such as: "being rich, famous, happy, wellliked and accomplishing more than others." No one I asked said "getting an education."

"Try not to become a man of success but rather try to become a man of value," said Albert Einstein, defining what he thought it means to be a successful person.

Even though billionaire computer giant Bill Gates never completed college, many would agree he's more highly respected as a philanthropist than as the richest man in the world.

He is proof that success isn't about making money.

What makes an individual successful is living up to his or her passion- the passion that makes athletes persevere after severe injuries or musicians strive to keep playing after years of rejection by recording companies.

"There's insane amount of competition (to become a successful musician)," said John Stava, Camarillo high's music director. "I was a trumpet player back in the days, and there were maybe 800 people capable of playing the same part."

Why do they keep at it?

Because "you might not make it to the top, but if you are doing what you love, there is more happiness there than being rich or famous," professional skateboarder Tony Hawk said.

As Louisa May Alcott once said, "Far away in the sunshine are my highest aspirations. I may not reach them, but I can look up and see the beauty, believe in them and try to follow where they lead."

Article reprinted with permission of the Adolfo Camarillo High School student newspaper, The Stinger.

Rora Oh, a freshman at the high school, is a Stinger staff writer.