Failures

I can't recall which student leader mentioned it, but the topic of failures really got me thinking of just how valuable those experiences are. She briefly commented about the importance of acknowledging your failures and being able to talk about them to others proudly--not to be shameful of them.

Up until now, I didn't see it that way. I never saw it as a negative experience, even though I may have been upset about it, but there's no way it would've ever crossed my mind that failures are beneficial.

Just as I've found that testing the waters and doing things out of your comfort zone help you to grow, failures do so in a similar way. Not only do you gain your experience of going through the process of "trying out" for whatever it might be so that you can look back and learn from it (what could I have done differently? What will I change next time?), but you personally have to deal with failure. A friendly reminder that we're human. But at least for me, I know that getting over it isn't that simple, especially when you put a lot of time into something, give it your all.

It's about not being afraid of rejection, not feeling vulnerable. Putting yourself out there and giving it your all takes guts. Not being ashamed of rejection takes even more.

I have a funny feeling that we'll be experiencing more rejections that victories in life (assuming you push yourself and put yourself out there). The sooner we learn how to deal with it and turn it positively, the better.