This Will Really Make you "Look" Good...

At graduation, I made sure to tell my classmates, "I'll meet you at the top." Now that we all have departed and are going our separate ways, we are all slowly trying to climb our way up the ladder of success. At the top of this ladder exists the people who are going to open the proverbial hatch to allow us a seat with the "Big Leaguers:" the CEOs, entrepreneurs, professional athletes, performers, doctors, and lawyers that we all aspire to be. And we all know what they look for: grades, extra-curricular activities, internships, community service and blah, blah, blah.

As I try to make my own way to the top, I am amazed when I take the time to actually look around and see how others are doing it. While I'm (literally) breaking a sweat on my ladder, I've seen some people coasting up with no problem. While I'm staying up late in the library (eyes blurred and head all heavy), they're sleeping tight with the comfort of knowing that someone like me is going to be sitting diagonal from them, the next day. While I'm getting my sleep-deprived butt kicked in dodgeball during the SLP "activities," they're relaxing in their room because they know that they've got a "connection" that will help them into the organization. I've even witnessed people make half-hearted attempts at community service, just to later paint it into some endeavor that not only changed their lives, but also the lives of the "hundreds" of orphans that they tutored and mentored for a year in a small, war-torn African village.

Tons of people do this; and as I thought about this yesterday, I realized that tons of "Big Leaguers" have probably done it to. But the thing is...they made it to the top; so, does it really even matter what they did to get there?

This summer, I got lucky enough to land a pretty laid-back internship. One of the other interns admitted that he was just using this experience as a "resume'-builder." I'm pretty sure that if I wanted to, I could sit back and relax everyday that I'm here and still enjoy the benefits of saying that I worked at a prestigious firm this summer. That would really make me "look" good. But the fact that I actually want to be productive while I'm here seems to have surprised a lot of people. I actually want to learn something while I'm here for three months...isn't that what an internship is for? So, will I let go of that desire to actually "be" good at what I do instead of "look" good on paper?

No.

Call me crazy, but I'm going to try to actually try to earn my props. And I hope you will, too. So, once again...I'll meet you at the top. But I guess the new question isn't if you'll make it, it's how will you get there?