Student Blog: Redefining Success

When I first stepped onto Otterbein’s campus, everything felt new and filled with possibility. I remember dragging my bags up the stairs into my dorm, unsure of where anything was on campus, but mostly unsure of where I fit in. I was nervous and excited to begin this new journey, but I still had the weight of a lot of expectations I had built up about who I was supposed to become in college. Now, halfway through my sophomore year, I can feel how much has shifted. The nerves have mostly gone away, my confidence has grown, and somewhere between my 8 am dance classes and late nights in the practice rooms, my understanding of success has changed entirely.

As I have reflected on my time in college so far, I’ve realized that I have changed as a person in more ways than one. I have changed as a person, of course. I moved away from home, learned to be independent, and I have grown up (a little, I think). However, the biggest change I have experienced is a shift in my perspective on what success means. I had a very fixed idea of what success in this industry meant and what I wanted my career to look like, but coming to college and beginning my studies in Musical Theatre has changed both for me.

Of course, most people see being on Broadway as the biggest success you can have as a musical theatre performer, and for a while, I believed that too. And of course, when people ask me what the goal is, I say, “Broadway!!!”, but I have slowly realized that isn’t the only path, and a career in musical theatre is still absolutely successful even if it doesn't end on Broadway.

For so long, Broadway felt like the only answer because it was all I ever heard about. Teachers, friends, even relatives who don’t know much about the theatre world would ask, “So when are we seeing you on Broadway?”, as if something less would mean I didn’t make it. It is an immense amount of pressure to carry, and I didn’t realize how much it was shaping my goals until I entered an environment where success looked different for everyone. In college, I have met people whose dreams ranged from regional theatre to arts education to choreography, voice work, directing, and roles I had never even considered. Suddenly, “making it” didn't have one definition. It was personal and flexible, depending on each person’s passions rather than an industry standard.

When I was in high school, I defined success as getting leads in shows, and while that is absolutely a success, once theatre is not just a hobby or a club at school, it becomes incredibly competitive. You can’t rely on external factors to tell you that you are successful. You can’t rely on being cast as the lead, or being cast at all, to feel successful in yourself and your art. 

For the first time, I have had to let go of the need for external validation. In high school, it was very easy to measure myself by cast lists because that was the only thing people cared about. However, in a conservatory-style training program, growth is constant and, more often than not, less outwardly measurable. No one gives you a gold medal for fixing a vocal habit you've been trying to break for years, or finally understanding a new acting technique. Those successes are quiet, personal, and often more meaningful because they are about who you are becoming as an artist, rather than how others perceive you. They are moments that shape my confidence and identity, moments that don’t come with applause but still feel transformative. They help me understand that my worth isn’t tied to being chosen for something. It is connected to how I grow, create, and show up for myself.

I have had to realize that success is getting a callback, even if you don’t end up booking the show. Success is getting up and going to the initial audition in the first place. Success is coming to class and being prepared. Success is getting one more turn in when you're going across the floor in dance class. Celebrating any and all successes is really one of the best ways to keep joy in your art. If you find small successes, then you always feel as though you are improving, growing, and staying positive in an industry where it is too easy to feel like you are falling behind. 

When you start to recognize the quiet victories, you free yourself from the pressure of only feeling content when you achieve the “big” victories. Redefining what success means to you doesn’t just make the journey healthier, but it makes it more sustainable and more fulfilling.