Being golden is not just an attitude, it’s also a way of life.

All too often, people mistake the term “golden girl” as someone who is spoiled, conceited and has a lack of interest in others. However, the truth could not be more contrary.

A “golden girl” is defined by the the Oxford dictionary as “a very popular or successful young woman,” but this title is not earned without extreme determination and effort. These golden girls have done their fair share of work to achieve their successes. When leafing through success stories, it is easy to see a pattern.

From her first dance trophy to her latest victory, sophomore Adalia Tate has crowned herself as a golden girl. With her most recent addition of Junior Miss Antioch and sophomore Homecoming Duchess to her repertoire and being an underclassman on the varsity field hockey team, Tate is a very well rounded student of Antioch.

The question, however, is not why she has achieved so much, but rather how she has reached success.

“I think that success is defined by setting a goal for yourself and achieving it, whether it takes a short amount of time or a long amount of time,” Tate said.

Many of the most successful people involve themselves in everything that they can. For example, Apple is renowned globally for its success. The company started under the genius computer programmer Steve Jobs and is now a worldwide network. This is because the company took risks. It became involved globally and made an impact. Golden girls and boys are just like this. They commit to many different activities in an effort to bring forth success.

Many of the brightest, most influential people on the planet do not hold back. They are involved in as many things as they can be.

“My definition of a golden girl is probably somebody that is really successful all around in everything that they do and they’re really involved in a lot of things,” Tate said.

A typical golden girl spends almost all of her time keeping busy with the school, sports and the community, attending numerous school and town events. With a schedule like this, it is hard to imagine that they can stay focused on each individual activity, but they push through it and even have a positive attitude as well.

“I feel like a key of being a golden girl is having a kind personality because if you’re not kind, people won’t see you as a golden girl,” junior Grace Hellen said. “They’ll just see you as conceited.”

Balancing good grades, AP classes, sports and extracurricular activities is not an easy task, but it forms the foundation of being a golden girl. Many times, people who are involved in a lot of activities feel that they are stretched too thin, which causes them to stop excelling in certain activities or aspects of life. This is what separates success from excellence: accepting that nobody is perfect at everything. Band teacher, Jonathan Untch, noticed that balancing time is difficult for students and sometimes takes their focus off from what they are doing.

“I think that the main thing that distracts people from whatever they are doing would be the other ‘thing’ they have to do,” Untch said. “It’s almost impossible to give 100 percent of your time to a school activity or sport when you are involved in more than one.”

Being multi-involved is great, but it does mean that sometimes sacrifices have to made. It can be assumed that success can get to one’s head, which is why many high-achieving students are looked upon with a certain disdain by other students who peg them as the “popular” type. In reality, what is popularity?

“To me, popularity is people looking up to you or people admiring you for different things or qualities that you have that they want or aspire to have too,” Tate said. “I think that by being popular, it can also be associated with being kind of a role model.”

Sophomore Kolton Powers agrees with the idea that popularity is not solely based on having a certain friend group.

“The definition of popularity to me is a group or individual that is very liked and well known,” Powers said.

Popularity does not always mean someone belongs to a certain friend group that has been deemed popular; it can mean that they are connected to many individual friends based on activities they are a part of. But in the midst of having many friends, it is important to stay true to one’s self.

Aside from popularity, being successful has its lows. Sometimes, people peg high achieving students the wrong way. Oftentimes, people put pressure on them without even realizing it by saying things like “you just get everything handed to you.”

“I’ve had people that just kind of throw my accomplishments back at me like an insult,” Tate said.

Despite this, she strives to be a role model to others in every way she can.

The best way to look past comments is to take the negativity and pay it forward with a positive connotation, using it to push harder.

A key component of being golden is being kind.

“I feel like it’s really important to be true to yourself and to be honest about how you feel about different things because everybody has feelings,” Tate said.

There is nothing to hide from one’s friends because everyone cries, everyone has a bad day and being true to one’s self is the best way to gain and show respect for others.

Being golden gives just as often as it takes. Giving back to the community through avid volunteering is a common trait of the coveted golden girl. Giving back does not have to be through volunteering, though. It can be as simple as surprising a friend with a sweet treat, or donating to a local collection.

What happens if reaching a goal does not happen immediately? There is no need to panic. Failure is the fuel for determination. Remember that even if one does not achieve them right away, that does not equal failure. Success is trying everyday to be a better person and look at every day as a fresh start.

A positive outlook on life is a key component of the golden girl ora; they have a natural drive for whatever they are working on, coupled with a desire to improve.

“[A golden girl] is the kind of person who always works hard and is always positive,” Untch said.

So, how does one achieve the golden girl status? It takes involvement, dedication, respect for one’s self and others, a positive attitude and generosity.

Being golden is not an attitude, it is what one makes of their life and how they choose to celebrate it.