Don't Cry For Me Fool

The definition of success is subjective. For some it’s the acquisition of money, titles, fame and degrees.  For others it is a life well lived full of lessons learned and the hearts we’ve touched. For many it’s the realisation of our dreams, finding peace and escaping the seasons of toil and hardship that life throws at us. In all likelihood, it’s a combination of them all.

The metamorphosis of me is not something you can comprehend. My success and your success are not the same, despite our lives briefly intersecting at the same place in the middle. In hindsight, what did you ever really know about me? You were never really my friend and your silence confirms it loud and clear.

Where did this delusion of me falling behind you come from? I never compared myself to you in anyway because I know who I am and what I can do. It's takes a strong and courageous person to fight back against social norms and to be true to yourself. I’ve never needed your pity for the choices that I made.

I wasn’t born into riches and fed with a silver spoon. I wasn’t schooled by private educators and I didn’t have a supportive family. Despite that, my achievements stand tall, towering over all those egos that can’t digest a single morsel of happiness for anyone other than themselves.

My success was driven by a feeling you’ve never been haunted by. That feeling is called survival and I’ve finally reached my safe, happy place. I’ve seen the alternative; I’ve witnessed the lies peddled to the youth and I’m grateful that in my middle age I was gifted with an opportunity to build success once more on my own terms.

My intelligence grounds me enough to know which ambitions are worth compromising my peace for and which goals are not. Our values, our worth and our time is ours to spend how we please. Life it too short to sell my soul for a title or a payslip.