Assignment 26A- Celebrating Failure

1) Tell us about a time this past semester that you failed -- whether in this class, or outside of this class. Don't spare any details! It'd be even better if there was something you tried several times this semester, and failed each time. 

• At the beginning of the semester I decided to change my majors. Doing so, I was unsure which classes would be the best fit for me within the courses, taking one that I really had no idea/interest in. I took this class to try and fulfill a requirement early and get ahead on the track but later found myself having to drop the class. An accumulation of other work, extracurriculars and my lack of interest/comprehension in the class forced me to drop so the sub-par grade that I had did factor into my GPA. Dropping a class means losing money and having to take another class, but I was willing to sacrifice that to make sure my GPA stays high. 

2) Tell us what you learned from it. 

• I learned that I really need to take my time when picking classes and thinking about my educational future, it is not something that can be figured out overnight. I should have taken a look at all of the possible classes and what they entail before choosing one thats fulfills a certain requirement. That being said, I was able to do this when making my schedule for the Spring semester. I started researching the requirements and the classes early so I could fully understand all of them and chose the ones that were the best fit for me. 

3) Reflect, in general, on what you think about failure. Failure is hard, isn't it? It's embarrassing, sure, but it also means that we have to change something about ourselves. Talk about how you handle failure (emotionally, behaviorally). Finally, talk about how this class has changed your perspective on failure -- are you more likely to take a risk now than you were just a few months ago?

• I believe that failure, although hard to overcome, is one of the most important aspects of life. It is difficult, but I like to think of failure as a good thing, one to motivate me to be better the next time around. I say "the next time around" because I will always try again. I have always been taught that it matters more what you do after failure than after success and thats something I definitely live by. This class has taught me how to analyze my failures, how to determine what went wrong and what I can do to fix it. Theres a saying that my father has always said to me to help me put failure into perspective with my emotions, "Failure is Inevitable, Suffering is Optional."