By the spring semester, seniors are often asked, ?So, what do you want to be when you grow up? Where are you going to college? What will you major in??

More often than not, seniors reply, ?Well, um, I don?t really know. I thought I would just get my general ed. out of the way first,? and sigh in resignation.

Many students, especially seniors, face this question almost daily. People seem to expect students to know exactly what they want to do with their lives; this pressure calls for a plan of action.

As students make plans for the future, they face many pressures and expectations. We live in a world where the fittest survive, the richest hold the most power, and success proves a person?s worth.

Success varies from person to person. What may mean success for one may be entirely different to someone else.

?My success will be different than others,? Sunny Petrie, ?06, said. ?Many would say being a success is having money, for me it is being able to help someone.?

Some people excel in life in less conventional ways. ?My dad did not graduate from college,? Jennifer Schmidt, ?06, said, ?but he owns a very successful carpet cleaning business.?

Being a success may depend on one?s location and availability of opportunities. Many times environment stimulates or kills a chance of success.

?Not enough students consider going away to college,? Jon Endicott, campus college counselor, said. ?The benefits of going away to college will help students find their identity separate from their parents.?

Value placed in personal satisfaction may make it easier to deal with the pressures of success. Someone with an established self-confidence may find dealing with the pressure easier. ?Do what you can, with what you have, where you are,? Theodore Roosevelt said.

?I think there is too much pressure that a person will not grow up unless they leave home for college,? Bethany Morton, ?06, said. ?Being a success is finding God?s purpose, knowing who you are, and being that person.?

In Charles Dickens? Great Expectations, Pip goes away from home searching for success by means of gaining status, love, money as well as more independence. He does not find true fulfillment in this superficial search, and realizes true happiness awaited him back home.

Like Pip, many need to experience life outside home in order to discover what they value. Yet, while in the search for success, the pressures of independence, outside influences and conflicting messages often confuse youth.

?Greatness does not come from a big name school,? Morton said.
Success is not found in your GPA, a great college or your parents but in the uncommon idea of finding greatness in where you are and what you already have.

?Be different and do what is not the norm, do God?s unique purpose for your life. What often is not popular holds more respect because you have to stand up alone.?

Everyone contains the ability to succeed. The difference between those who accomplish their goals and those who do not is how they recognize and manage the stress of pressure.

Stress is ?the result of placing undue expectations or desire on ourselves,? according to www.stressmanagement.com, ?creating images of ourselves and trying to live up to the image that has been created by others.?

The world’s measure of success does not necessarily mean individual failure.

Is success having great wealth, a stable career, and many friends? Being a success is more than material gain; it is to accomplish personal goals and dreams according to individual design.

?If I don?t succeed in science classes,? Corinne Pogue, ?06, said, ?then I probably should not become a nurse. If I work hard now, then success will be easier for me in the future.?

Optimism combined with hard work and determination help to create success. Finding open doors, and walking through them brings risks, but most often rewards.

?A person who has a good attitude toward taking risks will most likely succeed,? Aaron Ortiz, ?07, said. ?My cousin took a huge risk with his money, and because of it he now has a lucrative leading insurance company in Guam.?

Tension may be felt for people who label success as the main focus and goal in life. For many, success means positively accepting opportunities, and striving towards goals.

However sometimes the demand from outside forces creates success. Pressure often motivates people to do well in life.

?It?s not a bad thing to be pressured to be successful,? Petrie said. ?These pressures help me strive to my limits.?

The uniqueness and ability to manage the stress and pressure of those who feel success determines worth, often establishes a person?s success. Those who succeed without feeling pressured realize that life holds a purpose beyond personal achievement.

For more information go to www.stressmanagement.com.au/index, or contact Endicott at [email protected] for college counseling questions.