Honestly, at this point I am almost all out of "wise words" due to my own situation, but I will tell you this:

Success is what you deem success to be.
A man who stays at home and takes care of his children and cooks n cleans while his wife works and when she comes home enjoys the love they all share for one another - may see himself as successful yet society will look down on him bc he "let's his wife support him", or he may decide to believe society and be miserable even while he has the gift of love from his wife and children and has time to spend with each.

Success, for society, is a pre-defined notion, but even that changes over time. One of the best things my mom ever tried to teach me (took years to learn even after her death) was not to care how others viewed me and just be myself anyway. There is no way you can ever please everyone anyway. So why try? Just be you. Do what makes you happy. If that's going to college, great. If it's sitting at home doing nothing, that's fine too.

To be honest - I am 43. I am on disability. I never had a college degree. In my lifetime I worked as a babysitter, salad bar attendant, CNA, waitress, data entry operator, and a bill collector. Some were minimum wage, some above minimum wage. Some required special training, some did not. None required college. Now - I sit at home n play on my phone, watch TV, play with my dogs or walk on the beach, or take a ride in the car or walk in the park. I am not a success in society's eyes. Not by a long shot. In my eyes - I am. Why? Because I no longer spend a week in the psych hosp every 3 months. I can actually "make ends meet" financially - not everyone working can say that n I get less pay than most of them. I have 2 dogs that make me happy. I live indoors, not outside n not in a shelter. I have a car of my own.

These are things that allow me to say "I have succeeded in life."

Success is what you deem success to be.