#Successful?
As I’ve struggled to think of a topic to kick off my sophomore year blog series, I’ve scanned over practically every YouTube video and online article trying to find some sort of inspiration to come up with the next hot topic. While pop culture is at a stand still at this point with the media hiding under every surface because of the heat from “Occupy this, that, and the next big city,” I’ve decided that I’m going to switch up my role as a writer.
Rather than informing you, my lovely audience, about some irrelevant pop culture icon or explaining random biological processes, I’m going to create my own rant about success. However, this wouldn’t belong in the nerve blog if it was just some college student rambling about his own opinions that nobody cares to listen to, so for that reason, I’ll tie in a norepinephrine reference to make it real ‘neuroscience-y.’ So if you’ve made it through my introduction and are interested in seeing what I have to say, please continue. But, if your already making disgruntled looks at your computer screen after the first two paragraphs, now is the time for you to return to Facebook or whatever else you may be doing…
Now lets face the music here. What is life measured on? Is it your ability to obtain materialistic interests, or perhaps your ability to raise your own self-worth by making those around you with different interests feel less deserving or respectable? The question is always going to be biased, but I find this unanswerable question so very apparent in the college setting.
The Crossroads
Thrust into the hustle and bustle of Boston University, students always come up with wonderful and eccentric mnemonic devices for what each school’s acronym stands for. For example, you have the College of General Studies (CGS) here at BU. This lovely school is often the first to be thrown under the bus considering anyone who gets into “Crayons, Glue, and Scissors” is paying full tuition and is presumably not the greatest student. Why? I don’t know, but when your school has nicknames that I can’t even put in this article, I think there’s a problem. Long story short, predisposed ideas of what success should be, how it should take form, and how it should present itself following achievement, are completely skewed.
Consider a day in my life as a pre-medical student. Why am I doing this? Is it because I have a sick desire to ruin my social life, when I could have easily chosen a less demanding path toward my ultimate goal? Not exactly, but my point is right there in the previous line. If success can present itself in any shape or form, am I pursuing a medical career because I’ve been brain-washed my entire life to do so, or am I doing it because it’s a passion of mine? What I’m trying to discuss here is probably made more clear in this video below:
So you see, success is really about finding the balance between your innate talents and how you can apply them to a job setting. Whether that be through choice a, b, or c, success lacks the boundaries which often prevent people from even attempting to pursue their dreams. Coupled with a healthy dose of norepinephrine (see I told you), the neurotransmitter that is responsible for both energy and drive, and a tablespoon of serotonin for emotional stability, I encourage anyone and everyone to go out there and do what they do best. As the old saying goes, live today as if it were tomorrow…
Understanding Neurotransmitters – International Health Supplement Education Foundation
