I think that success and value are dependent on the person them self. People have different opinions on what success is and they place value on different things in their life. Some people think raising a family is one of the most valuable experiences and if they do it successfully then they consider their life a success while others are concerned about making a good business and money.

Yes i believe an achievement is an achievement, the point of trying to accomplish something is for personal value, i'm not going to go run a marathon because my neighboor would be impressed, I'm gonna do it so that i could look back and say" i set out to do this, and i did" that to me is an achievement. If you help peple out or make new friends or make money, that's just a bonus. However at the end of the day how you perceive what you did is going to matter most. :-)

I think that success is doing something and accomplishing it. The definition of an achievement is "something that has been accomplished by hard work, ability, or heroism " maybe achievement and success are valuable

All of the things considered "achievements" and "success" won't be going with you when you die. You could work hard your whole life and have a house, a car, a family, a career, but when you, it all stays behind.

Also, why is going to university considered being successful? It's always bugged me that if someone chooses not to pursue a post-secondary education, they're considered to be "going nowhere". But it's interesting, because some of the most accomplished writers never attended college or univeristy, and yet everybody reveres them. :S

People do luck out with the right circumstances to become "successful" without going to post-secondary education, but for most people they need the skills to be able to do jobs that aren't as common as a stores clerk or other jobs you see around town. I want to go into animation and I figured that I didn't need school to become a good animator but it is important. I've realized that art is a difficult skill to learn and that I have SO much more to learn that I know post-secondary will teach me. Going to school and having papers for it just lets others know you have ability to do what the course said. We're growing up in the day and age where college and university is a MUST for a number of jobs because expectations have risen and competition for jobs is increasing.

To put simply, the success would be actually accomplishing the goal of going through school(like what j-smooth said..lol) so you have the keys for whatever future you choose.

And that raises another question of mine...Who decided that it was necessary? Shouldn't life be about doing what YOU think is necessary? You could definitely make it as an animator without extra schooling, you could teach yourself (for free, no less...) and be just as good as anybody who took art classes in university. A degree is just a piece of paper that shows that you paid thousands of dollars, and went through the motions of university...It doesn't necessarily make you more qualified than the next person. :S

If I had the opportunity to choose between studying animation myself or going to a school I'd rather go to a school. Learning from others is valuable because if they already have a lifetime of experience and I can pool from that in just a few years then I consider myself lucky for the opportunity.

All your "notes" were quite interesting to read. I agree with everything you've said. "Because of our "live to work" lifestyle, we tend to miss out on some of the most awe inspiring things in life". You just have to incorporate the world of today (working, slaving away for nothing) and try to do the things you want. When I try to think about this, I just get pretty confused. Ill add more later, but this is probably one of my favourite questions and I am eager to see how you plan to solve it!

This is a good question because it requirres a different answerr for everybody. Some people take jobs they do like, like a firefighter and whatnot, and they could say they are happy. Others dont even think about their carreer as part of their lives, they think of it as something to be done quickly and as painlessly as possible so that at 5 o'clock they can go out and have fun, chill with the fam or whatever else they feel like doing. People like different things, so i beleive life has no ''meaning'' but rather a point. And the point of life is to have fun as much and as often as physically possible. haha

Survival, humans can look for/ interpret this need for survival in many ways. But I think that survival is the basic foundation.

personally, i think that the point of life is to reproduce, im not even kidding. I think that the point is to make babies who will replace you when when you die. kinda a dismal way of looking at it, but thats just what i think

lmao i didn't read through all the stuff you wrote on your page, i apologize haha i'm just gonna try to answer your question :)
in the grand scheme of things, if you're a pessimist or maybe even a realist, the point of living is to dieee.. depressing i know., on the more positive side while we're here we reproduce, we make our mark on the world, we create relationships, and aim for satisfaction in life. For the most part we aim to enjoy our time here.
I don't actually believe death is the end of it all. I really truly don't lol why on eaaaaaarth would we be placed here to live for 80 years, and just die, kind of like a pet. a very self sufficient pet. That survival thing i read from a post above is a good reason too - if you think about it in this world we learn harsh realities - if you wanna live the good life you have to work hard, persevere, and fight for what you deserve.

What is the point to life?... hmm well everyone has goals, everyone has wants, everyone feels the need to accomplish something, everyone needs love, everyone needs trust, everyone has these goals in common. However it’s the choices we make to get there that becomes our legacy.

http://hk.youtube.com/watch?v=LogC1pnPz_4 watch that
and
http://hk.youtube.com/watch?v=7M137VQ8Duo&feature=related
they might help ish

i think because of the way society represents its self and what it shows us these days the point to life is to be the best make the most money get the best degree, dont stop for anything. your suppose to find your "soulmate" have kids then get back to making a couple million before you die. that is what we learn from society. i think the point to life is to break away from this and change your life and the way you live it, maybe there isnt one single point, but theres thousands as maybe seeing your grandchildren, smiling everyday, breaking out of scoietys norms and being pleased with what your handed. making the most out of what we have is the point to life.

Maybe there just isn't a point at all?
On one hand, what if everything just is? It was a random occurrence, because we're just a random occurrence, randomly floating through space on a rock that can miraculously support us? (That's not what I think personally, but, hey, it's a thought.)

Furthermore, what if we're just God's Ant Farm? I mean, do we really care when one ant dies? Of course not -- there are fifty others where that came from! What if there's no point because we're just amusement?

(I know. I'm cheery.)

"Back home in Europe we work to live. Here in North America, you live to work." Reminds me of a song written by sam balson... its was called called movie sound when i played it with him last but i'm not sure now, there's a line in the song that goes, Never alone in this game i play, i keep on goin, goin nowhere i havent been doin enough living, cuz i've been livin to work instead of workin to live my life away. Doesnt really help you but its cool that even people who live in north america realise the way we all love to work

"Go with the Flow"

To add to my previous statement, a excerpt from a Queens of the Stone Age song titled: Go with the Flow :P

I want something good to die for
To make it beautiful to live.

lmao if there's absolutely no point to living, why do it? i'd rather believe that there is a purpose in being here right now then by acting on the alternative - suicide - and ending all this. I'd rather live life all the way to the end to see what there is when we're finally done here. so.. i guesss what i'm trying to get to is like, theres people who dont believe living is worth it (verryyy pessimistic people!) and people who are optimistic and believe we're not here for nothing.. maybe we're just supposed to enjoy this time. I think the best you can do is do what you love, and be a good person, and aspire to reach self progression.

But then if we're only here for this short time to enjoy our surroundings and all of the possibilities, then why not drop out of school? you can learn other ways. why not travel, leave home, stay out every night with the people you love? there's invisible rules in place to keep us from getting out of hand.. i lost what my point was, sorry :P

oh oh i have more to say:)
you said up above that life is a gift, and we waste it by spending our lives working for the 'man' haha and so on. we're so AFRAID of what will happen if we don't follow society and the norm that we don't take risks, we dont' do what we want. sure, I guess you could say we make our own choices, but think about it. I'm heading into university and i've never seen any other way of life because of what my family and the world has showed me. So yes, I get to make the decision that i want to go into marketing, but why go to university?? to survive sure, make money, sure. but i've never even considered any other way of life!
you have learned that you spend your childhood playing and learning, you move into highschool and you know you must achieve goals and make the grade to get anywhere in life, you then move on to post secondary and meet someone, get married, have children, wind down, die!

my example is very conveniently about my worries, haha but you get the point. we should ENJOY life, but i dont think everyone needs the set standards and rules that society gives us to use. maybe those people are the truly brave and unique individuals?

I like what you said about why not drop out of school, because we can certainly learn other ways. Western thought, which is becoming ever so popular everywhere you go, is that education (from schools) is good and you will go far with it. If you do anything other than that, well good luck to ya.

I don't think that life is as boring and pointless to the extreme where I would commit suicide or go overly optimistic and say that I have a 'purpose' in life. I do think that we WERE just supposed to live and enjoy ourselves, but that is not what has happened. Nomads are still happy, well were happy. Traveling from place to place, never staying in one area too long to grow attached. Western ideals, keep us pinned down from actually enjoying life with all these car payments, loans, debts, mortgage, that new and improved 'material possession'. It is just what we have become, you can try to escape it, but these ideals will probably always be in the back of your mind.

Now, to live like they are no rules and standards, that you just enjoy yourself, well it seems unheard of and far fetched. Are these people really unique and brave? To the individual and a smaller group of family and friends yes they are. But to the masses, societies rules and standards, hes essentially giving the message of "I don't want to be apart of society anymore".

Who says there nessesarily has to be a meaning to a life? Is it not possable that humans are just another organism on this earth, like an ammeaba or something? i don't think they seek a meaning of life, but i suppose that is possible too. Even reading these other comments on this page shows an enourmous truth, the meaning of life changes from every person. Each individual who wrote on this page have a new reason to live, so i don't think there even is one meaning to life, just live and be happy .

I agree with Ike. There might not be just one universal meaning to life - it seems that way because we all go through similar growth processes, biologically anyways, but each individual has certain variables in their life that keeps them going. It's like that friday in class where we were asked to write about true happiness. What makes you happy? What are the bare essentials to lead a happy life, for you personally?
These are the things that make life worth living. Obviously it's different for each person. i have a bit of a focus on love with my question and i'm pretty tainted with ideas of it, so here's a new thought: maybe people with similar reasons for why life is worth living become soulmates? :) bahaha. I hate that word, but it's a valid comment.