success measured

what is success?

an old friend from college recently appeared in the 'celebrations' section of the local newspaper courtesy of his proud parents.  i was very suprised to see that this person is not only working on his PhD in england but married a PhD and is living with her in chile.  it surprises me because i
remember him as the dorky guy who dated my roommate for a semester before flunking out of his program.  granted- he was only 18 years old at the time- so there was definite room for improvement.

so, that got me to thinking.  how do we measure success?  i started thinking about my own life at 35 years old and wondered if i was successful.  i like to think that i am, but then again, so do all of us in the human race.  what is success?  i went to college for 4 plus years to be successful and i decided that the degree i earned wasn't very useful in the real world.  i have a loving husband and a comfortable life and i have freedom to become the best person i can be- is that successful?

i am prone to believing that attaining success is measured when a person sees a bigger picture of the world as a whole- and not just the microcosm he or she lives in at the moment.  success is being comfortable enough with who you are as a person to be able to start giving of yourself to better the world at large.  that may be a bit 'pollyannish' of me, but i don't feel that success is measured in money or fame or material things.  at any rate, my college friend looked very happy in his picture and i wish him much success and happiness.