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Success is in the Chase, Not the Goal
About three years ago, my parents and I spent every weekend watching movies together. One night, we finally opened an unopened DVD of Dead Poets Society. It is a classic movie. Great actors, great story. My father, who is usually not emotional at all, actually shed tears when the students stepped onto the desks one by one. You might not have seen this movie, but it is a story about a group of students who are under the guidance of their “captain,” trying to break away from a strict and traditional education.
At that time, I was about to fly to Canada to study. Most children in China grow up with a strict education, just like in the movie. People think the purpose of learning is to become successful. After the movie, I asked my mom: “Do you think those kids are successful in their life?” My mom did not answer directly. Instead, she told me that when I went abroad, I must always put school first.
In many Chinese families, careers like finance, engineering or medicine are considered the perfect path. It feels like success means a stable income, a respected social status, finding a partner, having a child and raising the next generation to repeat the same life.
In that moment, the meaning of “success” felt suddenly so absolute. Yet no textbook or professor has ever given a real definition for success. My earliest understanding of success came from my mom. She achieved success in her own field. In her view, success came from being good at math and then working in a finance-related profession, thus earning more money. So, when I was young, she often sat beside me to practice math exercises.
But the time I enjoyed most was our family movie nights. And instead of becoming a business elite, I realized I wanted to explore filmmaking more.
So I think the goal of life is not only to achieve success, but to understand what success truly is.
Everyone has a different answer to this question. The world is unfair. Some people are born lucky, some are not. There are always stories of people changing their fate. And there are always stories of people who were considered successful.
True success is not only a result. It is not just money, paper or diplomas. True success is the journey of chasing a dream and enjoying every moment on that journey. It is not about how far you go in comparison to others, because there will always be someone who goes further. True success is how far you have gone from your starting point and getting closer to your dream today than you were yesterday.
The second time I watched Dead Poets Society was last year. At that time, I had just become a prefect. I felt I was one step closer to the success I wanted.
I feel lucky because I am still only seventeen. I am young enough to chase more dreams and more goals. No matter where my future goes, when I remember my dream of being a director at age seven, and my speeches about dreaming at age seventeen, I will always feel thankful for the time when I can still imagine my future.
Lastly, I want to thank my parents. Before Grade 12, they told me, “Use your young years to chase the dreams you love. Choose the major you truly want to do, and fight for it. We will support every decision you make, even filmmaking.”
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