Celebrating my success with a totally badass temporary tattoo.

What is success? Is there a finite definition, or is it more personal?

“They” will look at a human who was a television or movie star as a child, and eviscerate them if said celebrity hasn’t segued into bigger blockbusters. “They” will ignore the fact that said celebrity might have segued into something else entirely, whether it is creating a happy family, working in smaller productions that don’t bring fame or fortune but do provide fulfillment in other ways, or some other worthwhile career.

“They” will look at a musician who had huge commercial success with a particular song, then expect them to repeat that feat with every album thereafter. “They” will ignore the fact that said musician achieved success six years before the big hit, when the musician was able to quit their day job and completely support themselves by their music career.

“They” will look at a writer and say “I’ve never heard of him. Must not be successful.” “They” will disregard the fact that there are thousands (or only hundreds, or dozens) of readers love the writer’s work and look forward to the next story. “They” don’t care that the writer would write whether they got paid or not, and the fact that they do is just icing on the cake.