To each his own.

Lately I have been having many conversations with people around me regarding success.
What it is, Who decides what it is, What society thinks it is, how it drives one towards things.
So what conclusion did we come to? Well, the only valid one, which is clear, is that success is many different things. That, & well, society does not quite get it. But what I do know is all this glorious success jab has made me really think and define, & redefine what I believe to be true about success in my own life, the only life I have control over the success-decision.

Success to me,
should be simple.

Simple, I choose because success to me doesn't rely on where I live, or what I do for a living.
It does not depend on where I went to school, how long I went to school, or how long it is going to take me to pay the bank back for that education.
Where that degree gets me, or whether or not I should do more or do better are irrelevant when I consider what success is to me.
Success to Dani Davis is not a cubicle, or a piece of paper with a dollar sign and a top dog signature. It's not a certification or award, and it is certainly not a title before my name.

What it is to me though, brings me to a place deep inside my heart.
A place where only the things that bring me love and confidence and joy reign.
A place where decisions are made from that place, deep within my soul, and the decisions are ones that reflect my truest heart and deepest desire to simply, love & be loved in return.
Success to me is based upon this desire that I hold in highest & closest regard to myself. So the true question comes through in finding this place: Am I successful Today?

I am successful today.

I am successful because,
Because I have roommates who really try to be their best and actively try to love each other out loud in new ways daily.

I have a family who through alot of good hard fight & endurance, have finally come together to grow & model to each other what love can really look like.

Because I have a younger brother who, graduated from high school 500 miles away from me &, wanted to Skype to see me before he ran off to grad-night.

Because I have people in my life who embrace me to the complete fullest.
The me with the beautiful, but also with the less attractive parts of myself,
the parts of me I love to share, & the parts I would much rather keep hidden.
People who embrace me being flawed & encourage me to love even those parts about me. People who add and fill my life so much, that I am undeniably made better each time we interact, or speak, or even think about each other.

This is why I feel successful, which is pretty simple, right?
This is why I think life is something to be loved, breathed, & laughed. It is full & real & that is something we shouldn't take lightly of.

Be encouraged, find the success in your day, & embrace it, or them.


Danielle Nicole.