The world tells us that to live a happy life that we need to make as much money as possible by getting the best possible job. We are told, to do this, one must make the best possible grades to get that desired job, internship or acceptance letter to graduate school. We are told to stay up all night studying and to do whatever it takes to get to the top. We are told that we are defined by our GPA and test scores. We are told these things because this is often what society tells us is important and what defines us.

For me, I want to be defined by something so much different than worldly success. I want to be defined by my character and remembered how I treated other people. I don’t want people to look back at my time in college and say “he was always studying” or “he would do whatever it took to get to the top.” Instead I want people to say “he would always be there for me” or “I could go to him for anything.” 

If we want people to say these things about us we have to decide what is important to us. Are we going to spend our college career just adding things to the resume and walking all over people, or are we going to spend our college career being intentional about our relationships with others, treating them with the utmost respect and how we would want to be treated? It is OK to push off studying for that test that you have next week or that homework assignment that is due in three days because you have the opportunity to engage with real people with real stuff going on in their lives and make a significant impact on their life. If you don’t slow down and take a step back, you could miss so much. Academics are absolutely important, and I am not in any way saying you should not strive to achieve success in the classroom, but I am saying that it is certainly not everything.

I was once told that there is a difference in living a life of success and living a life that is significant. A successful life is one that the world places on a pedestal and a life that is full of worldly possessions, but a significant life is a life that impacts others. A significant life is all about being a servant, being intentional with your relationships and loving one another as you would want to be loved. I was once told that there is no greater love than for one to lay down their life for another.

I challenge you to ask yourself what do you want to be defined by? Do you want to be defined by the things you have or do you want to be defined by your character and the impact you made on others? You only get a short time in college, don’t use that time to just build yourself up, use it to make a lasting impact on someone else’s life.

Connor Herfurth is a senior majoring in political science and has served as president of the Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity. After graduation, he will enroll at the University of Kentucky Law School.