To Be Successful…

This entry was posted on October 8, 2013, in AMYgdala-la-la-land, Infographics and tagged , , , , . Bookmark the permalink. 41 Comments

When I was a kid, I somehow got it in my head that a girl needs to be one of three things to be successful:

  • Beautiful
  • Smart
  • Good at Volleyball

Since no one was accusing me of being the next beauty queen….

5th-grade-camping

Notice how I accessorized my hot-turquoise elastic pants outfit with a  head-gear.

I decided to focus my efforts on the other two things.  Preferably a combination of both.

My efforts to achieve genius in elementary school didn’t exactly turn out as I had hoped…

recess-outside

And being good at volley ball didn’t turn out so well, either.

8072843_f520

I stopped focusing on Volley-ball…for safety reasons.
Photo credit: hubpages.com

So, I obsessively focused my efforts on trying to be smart.

Kegger-outside

College wasn’t much different than elementary school

After a lifetime of trying too hard, and countless hours of therapy, I no longer concern myself with such silly notions of what it means to be successful.  I’ve learned to appreciate the little things in life, and take pride in ALL my successes…no matter how small. For example, yesterday, I successfully finished an entire pint of ice-cream in one sitting! And, I’ll be damned if I’m not successful at that again!

41 thoughts on “To Be Successful…”

  1. Good for you! Not everyone can eat that much ice cream at one time, I personally am a consistent victim of brain freeze, so you have me beat. I loved the drawings of elementary school and college and they really weren’t that much different. It seems like we had the same study habits. 🙂 What makes anyone successful? It is only a label that people put on someone because they really like what they do. What is it that you are looking forward to achieving? What is your passion? Based on the elementary school pic, maybe fashion design? Don’t waste time trying to make yourself into what somebody else will call successful. You will miss out on a pretty great person with a bunch of interesting talent if you do. Thanks for the thoughts today!! Great as usual. 🙂

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  4. My thought was that if I wasn’t successful in business (job) I wasn’t a success. I’m still working on that. Now I consider the small things like my writing successes and that I’m a pretty decent husband and father. And that I know how do a pretty decent pun every once in a while.

    I’m just glad you are back blogging so we can hear about your volleyball successes!

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  7. A whole pint? Now that is fantastic, go you! (I need to know, which flavor?)

    The college picture is exactly what I was doing too. You and I, we need to get to more keggers….or we could have an ice-cream kegger. 😉

    Also, volleyball is a sport that should be played with helmets. I don’t know how, but I managed to get hit in the head by a volleyball at least once a week all throughout high school even when I wasn’t playing.

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  9. Personally, I think you turned out perfect!
    The last thing you should be doing is trying to fit anyone’s mould. Make your own way through life, my dear friend, and you’ll be fine.

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    • Thank you, Hook. Apparently, I made my own way through the land of accessories with the head-gear (even though I was clueless)…I’ll see what I can do, now 🙂 …hopefully, not as clueless…

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  11. I am elated to see you embracing this side of yourself, Amy. :0) You know, some of my greatest “successes” in my life came from having my teeth utterly kicked out. Take for example, my children’s book, Peanut Butter Soup. Unlike other writers who set out for literary acclaim and the approval of their writing peers, I wrote that book to prove to myself that I was a.) no longer crazy (which, as it turned out, I still had 3 good crazies left in me which culminated in me being locked away again- who knew?) and b.) that it IS possible to do great things while on Food Stamps. (Food Stamps aren’t for everybody, but they did pull me through some incredibly hard times a decade ago).

    I never got around to promoting it (eh…maybe someday) but you know, had it not been for my shattered mind at the time, low self esteem, and seemingly insurmountable obstacles to overcome- I wouldn’t have been challenged to the degree that I was. Talk about wanting to fit in! I just wanted to be sane and off of medication. To come from that place- to working on a degree FOR Behavioral Sciences, etc.- has been a complete head trip. I say all of that to say, I know things can be pretty damn scary up in the headspace, bro! But that’s what makes you who you are- because you have an extra dollop of fears and such- when I see you standing up and being brave- in the face of that crap? Well I am in awe, because I know your struggles and you should know that you help a LOT of people with such honesty. You help me all the time. 🙂

    Chunky Monkey rules……….!
    heheh…
    xoxo

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    • Your comments and the fact that you read my blog ALWAYS makes me smile! I can relate to SO much of what you said…about having some good crazies in you! Sometimes I feel like “HEY! I’m all done. I’m good. No more periods of crazy in me!” Then…BAM…out of nowhere… I am a sad, sniveling and scared tear factory.

      Honestly, your comments and faith in me, gives me the courage to push my own boundaries and look deeper inside myself to find what’s really there. Sometimes, I don’t even know what’s in there! HA! But, I am finding a way to be open and honest about it.

      Thank you so much for sharing what you do, and for your encouragement. Really. Thank you.

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  13. Success is only considered as real success if it makes you happy in the end. Congrats on your success with that pint of ice cream! 😉

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  15. Oh heck yeah– once you’ve eaten an entire pint of icecream in one go you would be AMAZED how much easier it gets every time 😉

    Also: LOVE the photo. I have many a snapshot like that. And, um, math is the worst. Just the absolute worst.

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    • So true about the pint of ice-cream! I am trying to adopt the same outlook on running and a multitude of other things as well. HA! Thank you for taking the time to read and comment, Aussa! – Cool name by the way! I am looking forward to reading your blog and maybe seeing some or your snapshots as well 😉

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  16. Amy I love this post too! You seriously need to write more.Like starting now. hahah! Anyway, I get where you are coming from on this one completely. I think a vast majority of women start out feeling as if beauty is the number one success. When they feel they have failed at this they move on to thinks like being smart or playing a sport. The problem is, they are doing it all for the wrong reasons. Even if I had a complete makeover as a child I would have still felt ugly. It’s because we see on the outside what we feel on the inside. For the first time in forever, I’m taking a break from college and doing some soul searching. Reevaluating the direction I’m going in and why in fact I’m even going in it. It’s important to do embrace yourself and do things for YOU, not for others. Your beautiful and you inspire. Continue to write because if nothing else (and I am sure there are many other things), THIS is your talent. ❤

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    • Thank you M&M. You are too kind!

      I’m glad to hear you are taking some time for yourself and doing some soul searching. I’ve noticed your photography, and its really good! Is that something you are thinking of doing more with?

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      • thank you for saying that Amy! Yes, I would love to do some more with it. I finally got my first DSLR so if you have noticed it’s improved, that is definitely why hahah 🙂 I think I’m going to try selling on Etsy and just see how it goes 😉

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  17. I really really love what you have written about success!!! So simple….We like to complicate it at times but success is available to everyone who is willing to be open minded…..Great post

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