Failure Opened My Eyes to a New Perspective
Hello everyone! I'm Amanda, 20 years old. When I found out that there was a chance for me to address a lot of people about something significant, I grabbed the opportunity in order to talk about an matter that I don’t often hear or see everywhere: failure.
1. When I was young
I used to believe that knowing things, that being the best in things was a great way to lead your life. I strived for good grades, to be someone who can be associated with academic greatness, that girl who is most likely to succeed in yearbook annotations… It was something I was so fixated on. Then came college.
As soon as I entered the room, I realised that what I used to believe as talent was nothing more than skill. I believed before that I was a great writer, a great presenter, just somehow who can make it and them bam! I only knew how but didn’t really excel in these pool of other people. But still, I tried.
2. During my second year
I received my very first failing mark in my entire life. a big whopping 0.0 on my final grades. I cried and cried, feeling like my future had just toppled down, with employers always looking at Magna and Summa Cum Laudes. I lost motivation, lost my way, lost myself.
Then I woke up one day, realising that I should do something about this, something that could make my life worthwhile. Thus, my failure led me to look for freelance writing jobs, fix up my blog, have this whole different outlook on life to prove that the world is not just made for winners-- it was made for achievers.
3. Risk of Failure
I believe that in order for innovation and development to happen, we must not only seek council from those who are excellent because sometimes, those people we overlook, those people who are treated as not good enough are the ones with the best insight because they know how it feels like to strive, to take risks, to fail and yet they still have that will to welcome a new day.
I offer this article to everyone who felt like failure dictated their life; to those who felt like they are outsiders from the world made by winners. I wanted to let people know that failure is often underrated, often shadowed by success or sparkling 4.0s on a transcript and yet it shouldn’t be. Grades are just numbers. Not everyone is good at academics--but it doesn't mean one is stupid or just not good enough. Find your passion and strive hard to excel. Make it a way to get to your own success story.
Failure is a crutch to lean on and to be used to stand up and be better. For I believe that succeeding without failure is never a true success.
