Big Picture: Reaching the top

By: Annie Sragner, Assistant Arts and Life Editor

Throughout life, and particularly campus life, we face frequent challenges that allow individuals to rise to the occasion or to crumble under the pressure, the difference being that the former sustains the momentum of hard work, and the latter discouragingly surrenders the reach to the top.

The concept of reaching the top is not the same for everyone. Each person’s dreams evolve differently, until they reach a certain extent that they become satisfying. A life-spectrum exists in the thresholds of each individual’s ambition, along which they pursue their dreams.

Think of an equilateral triangle as a symbolic representation of the space available to those who reach and those who settle. The “top” is a narrow place reserved for those who truly want to get there. But many bail out of the dream-chase because of self-doubt or other hindrances, and choose to occupy the wider, more inviting “bottom” of the triangle.

Consider for yourself what the extent of your dreams is. What do you want? What will satisfy you? Ask yourself if you are actively working toward reaching your visions, or perhaps those of a parent or peer. Determine the extent to which you are willing to take your short life, in terms of individual success.

This week, as students approach our new classes, some may appear intimidating or unendurable. One approach admits defeat early on with withdrawal or passive failure later. This choice automatically gives the class or professor more power, tilting the odds against the student. A better approach is to take this class by the horns and show that professor he or she is lucky to have you as a student. The only difference between these two choices is the belief in oneself.

Each of us has the power to take life into our own hands if we relentlessly believe that we are capable of doing so. You signed up for that class, job or position: prove to yourself and everyone that you are worthy of it.

With that, choose classes, careers and life paths that are full of what you love. Staying actively engaged in true passions while maintaining momentum is a key to finding daily meaning and reaching your top. But take note, paths taken solely for the empty promise of money ultimately lead to the wide and crowded bottom of the triangle.

Whatever path you find yourself on, it is never too late to start chasing your dreams. Realize for yourself whether you are striving for the top or getting comfortable at the bottom.  And remember, anything is possible when dream and effort combine.