| Life had been pretty sheltered growing up. I did all the things a "good kid" was expected to do. I went to school and achieved decent grades, I participated in extra curricular activities, and stayed out of trouble. I had lived in the same town and the same house all my life. This was my chance to spread my wings and revel in the new-found freedom I was about to embark in...and I flopped magnificently. Many of my friends had been terrified to leave home, their friends and family, and most of all the routine which had made their lives comfortable. I was, on the other hand, thrilled at the possibility of independence. Sure I would miss the people I loved and had grown up with, but college offered the opportunity of adventure. My first week I spent meeting new people. Many of these people offered totally new ideas and new perspectives that fascinated me. I even found a few people whom I shared many common interests with. Classes were an afterthought, and the thing I dreaded on Monday morning after a long weekend of Blue Lagoons and loud music. The novelty wore off when I received my first warning of grades. Even though I had received high marks for the assignments I did hand in, I had missed many deadlines. A few projects never met the marking pen of my Professor's hand at all. I should have listened more carefully when my teacher told the class, "Its hard enough to pass this course missing a few classes for reasons absolutely necessary". This statement stuck home when a tragedy struck my family, and more specifically, my sister. I received a phone call late one night. On the other end my Mom spoke in a somber voice that immediately alerted my senses. My sister had been diagnosed with breast cancer and was scheduled to undergo surgery. Living six and a half hours away, I spent a lot of time going back and forth to visit my sister and it took its toll on my grades. Evaluation between semesters came and although my professors were sympathetic to my causes and even encouraged me to return the next year, they could not see fit to let me continue in the course. I had to start all over again and would have to spend the next semester in General Arts and Sciences. I was humiliated, and for a long time could not face my friends and family with the truth. As time progressed, I found my classes to be quite interesting and many of my professors inspirational. I began to question my career goals and to ultimately rethink where my life was headed towards with my new found interest. It was difficult to fail and to feel as though I had let down my parents by making my flop. I realized however, I had actually benefited from the experience. I was now more focused and determined to do well. Taking my education for granted was no longer a way of thinking for me. Revising my future ideas, and by evaluating my past negative experiences I learned that my future could be brighter than I had ever expected. I was now ready to face my future armed with the knowledge and experience of both failure and success. Life is full of ups and downs. Some describe this chronology of events to be like a roller coaster. The problem comes when your whole life has been one big "up", eventually you are going to have to come down and the higher you climb the steeper your fall. Some lessons cannot always be taught by doing "the right thing". This was my case. My fall had a very significant impact on my life. Luckily enough, I was able to see the positives of my situation and able to recognize that there is no such thing as a failure if you learn something valuable from that experience. This girl who had flopped was about to spread her wings once more, and sore to a higher goal. |
| SUCCESS BY FAILURE |