Winter Dreams, By F. Scott Fitzgerald

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Recommended: What is the true meaning of success

The word success can have multiple meanings. It can be viewed as a synonym for wealth, triumph, accomplish, winning, and prosperity. While all of these synonyms appear to represent that of something positive, the most common misconception with regards to the word success is that it is linked to happiness. F. Scott Fitzgerald attempts to caution readers of this common misconception within his story, “Winter Dreams”, which highlights a young man’s failed attempt at achieving personal happiness when he tries to find it through pursuing a life of success and status. Despite many false beliefs, wealth is not always accompanied with a blissful, worry-free life. To be a successful human being, you must first start by being happy with yourself. Personal …show more content…

It has always been hard for me to fit in; I am a very shy person and I am often concerned with how others see me. Like many others, I have fallen victim to prioritizing material possessions above everything else thinking it would bring me happiness and success. When I was in high school, success to me was having a lot of friends and being popular. In middle school, I was never really a part of the popular crowd, so I was determined high school would be different. I was so concerned with making sure people liked me that I did things that made me lose sense of who I was. There was a group of girls at my high school who everyone wanted to be; all of the girls wanted to be friends with them and all of the boys wanted to date them. Their lives seemed close to perfect and I wanted to go through high school with the same ease that they were. I tried so hard to fit in and be like them. I was more concerned with wearing the right clothes and making sure that I looked perfect everyday instead of focusing on my grades and studying for upcoming tests. I began buying new clothes and shoes, and made sure my makeup and hair was perfect everyday. I remember begging my parents for money telling them it was for school, but I would just end up going to the mall. I spent every penny I had on making sure I had all of the latest things. I thought that by having all of these material things I would be noticed and people would like me. I valued material possessions more than my grades, and in the long run this hurt me incredibly. Trying to fit in, I began going to parties and drinking in excessive amounts, and by doing this I lost the few friends I did have because they did not want to engage in the same behavior that I was. I did not normally behave like this and I felt a little uneasy drinking at such a young age, but I felt that it was necessary to do if it meant I would fit in at

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