– WordPress Daily Writing Prompt #5 –

If success can be defined by happiness, then my failure to complete college set me up for success.

Don’t get me wrong—it was one of the biggest moments of disappointment in my life.

I was devastated. Shocked. Humiliated, even.

But had I followed through with “the plan,” I never would have found fulfillment. Let me explain.

Growing up, I was on the straight path of the academics-to-career pipeline. The trajectory seemed clear: Editor-in-Chief of an award-winning school paper, to college journalist, to professional reporter. I knew what I had to do.

I was driven. Ambitious. Unrelenting, even.

Well, I only succeeded with part one of the grand plan. Upon entering college, I found myself in a hole of depression that hindered every attempt to take one more step forward. After three years, I left the University of Rochester behind and returned home to the opposite coast.

The thing is, I never would have been happy as a career journalist.

I am a homebody. An introvert. A hermit, even.

As much as I was able to make myself capable in professional and social situations, it was never something I enjoyed. I excelled at conducting interviews, but it felt like torture and caused me endless anxiety.

Ultimately, failing in college forced me to look for another path, and the one I landed on ended up fitting like a glove.

Today, I am happy. Comfortable. Thriving, even.