Photo taken by Patrick Lu

This is my first post in a series I call Understanding People. The goal of this series is to provide insight into the hidden forces behind specific actions made by our peers. It is my hope and desire that those who read will gain enough insight to overcome feeling wronged/angry/worried/etc. towards these actions, and instead start feeling patience, understanding, and compassion towards the actor and their situation.

In this post we will explore a commonly seen and hurtful trait: arrogance.

People

People are complicated; there is no practical way to make general statements about all, or even "most people". Instead, we will focus on just a few characters. Here are

Photo taken from the top floor of HTH.

What is success in life? Different people will give you different answers. For example, in American culture, many subscribe to the "American dream" – a high-paying job, a handsome/beautiful spouse, a private house in the suburbs, and maybe having kids (the "maybe" being a more recent development). For another example, in the startup community, success is defined by building a great, profitable company, and possible selling said company for a big payout.

You've probably heard of these viewpoints before, but a certain group of people happens to define success much more radically. Hidden