“Luck is when opportunity meets preparation.” This is an insightful, thought-provoking quote, and I believe it to be correct -although only in part.

If we take a person and put them in two different scenarios, luck will be shown in two very different ways. Say two gymnasts are trying to qualify for their state’s annual competition. The first gymnast trains well and works hard to perfect her skills and routines every day. The second one slacks off and does not push herself to train to the best of her ability. Obviously the first gymnast will make it to state, and most likely not the other. So, is it luck when the first gymnast qualifies for state? Most would say no. But, if the gymnast in the second scene makes it to state, we would then call it luck? So, then, does luck only happen to those who have not earned it?

We do not call it luck when a person achieves a goal that they have been fighting for, working for, and desiring for years. When this is the case, it is called an accomplishment, something deserved. We only appoint luck to those who possibly don’t merit it.

We can also look at luck in another light. Thousands of people will apply to be featured on a reality tv show. There are often hundreds of good, worthy applications that the show’s host must sort through and single out just a few. When there are this many applicants that are all equal in quality, does luck then decide between the one winner and the 99 other losers?

In conclusion, I do and do not agree with this statement, “Luck is when opportunity meets preparation.” Is there such a thing as luck? That is a question that must be answered before we can analyze a statement such as this. Luck, if that is the correct term, is a philosophical muse with many planes to be considered.