Are You a Success?

While talking with one of my best friends, we started to discuss "when are you successful?" Well to be honest the only thing we could dtermine is success is in the eye of the beholder.

It is really a simple answer that can be broke down by each individual person as follows:

1) What are your dreams? goals? and aspirations? Now the true question is what where these one year ago? five years ago?
2) Did you accomplish these goals? If not what prevented/ altered your progress/ path?
3) Would you change anything in your past? Not small things but serious life altering decisions.
4) Now the most important question in my personal opinion is: Are you your own role model? Do you impress yourself? Would you be your own friend?
5) What are your future dreams, goals, apirations?
6) What are you going to do to ensure your dreams, goals, aspirations will become a reality?

It may seem simple and funny to think that success can be determined in five questiions but my personal opinion is that it can. I will review all these questions below and determine what my answer is.

1)Five years ago my dream was to graduate high school and go to college for nursing.
2)No. I went to college to determine that nursing is not what my calling in life is. I changed my focus to advocating for youth in foster care and will be returning to school this fall.
3)HECK NO. I made mistakes but I learned, developed, and grew to become a better person, advocate, and friend.
4)YES! I am amazed at the opportunities I am blessed to be apart of. I am impressed everyday at the family I have, friends I have, and the opportunities that seem unrealistic at the moment presented. I would be jealous of anyone that had my life if I did not have it.
5)My future dreams are to get a degree in something that gives me the opportunity to work with youth who are in foster care or in the at-risk population.
6)I am going to continue learning everyday. I am going to meet new people who will teach me everyday. I am going to refuse to except defeat. I am not going to be a statistic. I am going to be as successful as I determine. I am going to live my life the way I want. I am going to make a difference in the world (no matter be is small, with one person, or a million).

The determining answer for me is YES! I am successful. I have overcome obsticles, challenged the social norm, refused being typical, and determined my own path.

I have been through foster care, finding a forever family and being adopted, all the craziness that comes with a family, advocating for youth in foster care local-state-national-international platform. I have advocated for youth in foster care in France, Germany, Ghana, Spain, Switzerland, Italy, and the USA. I have met some of the most powerful people in multiple countries. I have dedicated my life to bettering the lives of others while ensuring the bettering of my own through education, connections, and personal growth.

As I see it, I am as successful as my imagination allows me to be. EVERYONE needs to dream the biggest dreams, look at all obsticles in life not as a challenge but an opportunity, determine your success, and SUCCEED YOUR SUCCESS! You are as successful as you determine. I think everyone is successful for making it another day, making someone smile, and living your life!

Marcus
Program Staff - FosterClub
[email protected]