Entry # 5: Success in Numbers

    Since becoming a new resident of Arizona at the beginning of the year, I noticed an immediate difference in the air here compared to the various other places I have lived across the US. No, I'm not talking about how hot it is; I am talking about the increased sense of community and effort to improve. Typically, local news is just a bunch of downer stories about human trafficking and old ladies being mugged. Though that might happen here, it is not all we are told about in the news. For every negative story, there seem to be two or three uplifting stories of a local business raising money for another local cause. 

    Almost the entire time I have lived in Arizona I have been a student at Glendale Community College, and it has been very cool to be around so many people going against the odds of their upbringing to get the education they want to create a better life for themselves. Knowing that the local and state governments are setting such big goals with a plan to back them up is exciting as a fresh student in a fresh land. 

    It has been about 8 years since I was a student in a college setting, but I was in another state that does not take nearly as much pride in creating a community that wants to create success for itself. The effort that I see the staff put in each day is very impressive, and it gives me an even bigger reason to show up each day physically AND mentally. 

    There is this new message going around in society and "the social medias" that you don't need anyone but yourself to succeed. "Love being alone" type messages. While it is important to be able to do things on our own at times, this sentiment is creating a nation of lone wolves with constant spikes in depression and an overall lack of fulfillment in one's life. This is not just an economic issue; it bleeds into every crack of our lives and who we are as human beings. It is a proven fact that we can accomplish more together than alone. 

    When I am doing anything hard in my life, something as simple as a conversation with someone who is going through something similar at the same time, or has gone through at one point in their life can give me that extra little push I need to tackle something that I have been putting off or dead doing. This little voice in all of us wants us to quit the moment we feel any resistance, and that battle is won far more often when we've got others in our corner. This is why I love taking the time to ask people why they are doing what they are doing and compliment them on the choices that they are making. 

    Gaining a higher education is like an investment in a startup. You pay all this money to buy a stock with the promise of massive returns in however many years, but there is no guarantee. What increases the odds of success and return immensely is the consistent hard work you choose to put in every day and appreciate its importance at every phase, big or small. Next thing you know the time has come to reevaluate your portfolio worth and how much it paid off. 

    When you look back on all the hard work you put in, I bet it would be hard to say you did everything alone, without the help of a single person along the way.