Personal Narrative: Why I Hate Failure

Having grown up in a time and within a society where the terms fail and lose are rarely spoken to children in any aspect of their lives, I generally considered myself a success in everything I did. I received medals, ribbons, certificates, awards, and trophies for academics, sports, and for just being a kid. So in my mind, for the majority of my life, I was unaware that I had failed or lost at anything. And having a father that is a U.S. Marine, failing and losing were not things that I wanted to tell him that I had done. Now that I am tasked to determine how I have grown from my failures, I realize that I have failed, that failure is not the end, and that I have excelled in several areas of my life due to what I have learned from those failures.

I have had to deal with adversity a lot in my life. Whether it be losing playing time, or not even getting a fair chance because my family isn’t involved in the program. I’ve faced adversity in more than just sports; I grew up without a dad and it’s gotten to the point where I don’t have a mom either. Although I have had to deal with many hard experiences, I believe it's made me stronger, better person.

I've been fairly busy as of late. Notably, yesterday was a pretty interesting day. I'm not exactly feeling well, think I'm coming down with something. How often is it that a Jedi contracts a cold? Just not feeling as spry, I think. My stomach is churning as I type, something is missing, think I might have to take a reprieve sooner rather than later. Maybe I'll be gone for a cycle, maybe I'll be gone for a year. I don't know. I just know that I need to focus on other things. That's not the point of this entry, however.

Dealing with adversity and seemingly impossible challenges determines a central lesson I have learned in my life. In early childhood, I experienced severe brain injuries and a life­threatening coma caused by a major car accident. In the following years, I struggled with dyslexia, learning deficits, and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. From 1994 to 2004, I faced a major family crisis due to the bankruptcy of my parents’ business, followed by a decade of financial uncertainty. Despite all difficulties, I enrolled in college and dealt with the accumulated stress in trauma therapy from 2008 to 2010. During this time, I also ran a successful web design and hosting company and learned first-hand about the importance of strategic positioning.

Ever since I could remember, I heard the expression “you can do anything you want, if you put your mind to it”. I never thought it to be true until I experienced it for myself. My weight was something that I've always struggled with and because of it, I met many obstacles in my life. Some of which affected my physical health and self-image. I also had personal issues that I had to face . I knew that I needed to make a change for the better.

Cause we're scared to see each other with somebody else” - Drake ‘Doing It Wrong’

Yes, I did encounter a problem early in my career when I was a licensed practical nurse (LPN). I had one-year experience as an LPN and was working on an oncology unit where functional nursing (task nursing) was utilized. Consequently, there was this charge nurse (CN) named Candy, whom I liked, because she was a short, friendly, plumped, energetic and beautiful long red hair. She seemed knowledgeable in her field and I had a lot of respect for her. Thereby, realizing her knowledge base, I often utilized her as a resource person to provide me with the correct policy and procedures. Also, she was friends with the director of nursing, the unit secretary, and one of the supervisors.

Failing is something everyone has experienced, whether it be extensive or minimal. These defeats, however can be fundamental to later success. By using the past failures, you are able to see where you mismanaged, and redress yourself so that next time you do not make the equivalent mistake. As a swimmer, failure is something I have become accustomed to, and have learned to utilize. Unless you are someone with the plentiful ability of Michael Phelps in the water, you cannot triumph in every race. I may have failed in a swimming event, but the lessons that I have cultivated from my failure have accompanied in showing me how to deal with failure, and how to use it to my advantage.

Back in 7th grade I wasn’t a very smart kid. I hung out with kids that I probably shouldn’t have hung out with and I regret it to this day but will always be with me. I was a good friend with this kid and we were both out for track because it was track season. We were just getting done with practice and he wanted me to stay the night so I called me mom and she said sure. So I rode the bus home with him and when we got to West Union we got off the bus and went to his house. He said lets got to this other kids house so we walked to this kids house that was all the way on the other side of town. When we got there we were both wearing shorts and sweatshirt and we both were running through the snow so our socks were wet. When we went

In life we are all bound to make mistakes given that nobody is perfect. We are all human and we all make mistakes and failures. I have made many failures in my life; some strong and some extreme, however one failure that recently affected me was failng my drivers test. Now of course, failures are subjective and how much it should affect you is to each of ts own, but me failing mine deeply affected me. I was sad for so many day and nearly cried afterwards, but I decided to keep my head up. I’m a prefectionist and everyone was looking forard to me passing my first time, but unfortunatley I did not. It took me a while to move on, but I did lern from it. What I learned from my failure is that I should neever give up, I should continue to practing,

Never giving up is something I have had to remind myself daily because no matter what

One of the biggest obstacles that I have struggled with for the majority of my teenage years has been staying healthy, both emotionally and physically. In school, I struggled with saying no to new opportunities when my plate was likely already too full to begin with, which would lead to stress, exhaustion, and eventually emotional instability. I spent the vast majority of the rest of my time completing homework or working at a local diner, leaving myself with virtually no time for self-reflection, exercise, or to prepare healthy meals. During my first year at the University of South Carolina, my goal is to be healthy, in every aspect of the word. To accomplish this, which doesn’t happen overnight, I am going to create a schedule for my week

One time I experienced failure was during my time in fifth and sixth grade. At this time I had difficulty comprehending and completing my math assignments. This was a discouraging and trying time; that the Lord used to teach me perseverance and determination.

I said sorry. For the time I hit my sister. For the time I spilled food on the floor. For the times I was right. For the times I was wrong. For the times I made mistakes. I meant it when I said those three words, “I am sorry.” Because they represented much more. They represented the guilt and regret that I was feeling. And I was forgiven. For the time I left a bruise on my sister. For the time I made a mess. For the times I was right. For the times I was wrong. For the times I made a mistake on accident or on purpose. But saying sorry didn’t make the bruises go away. The words didn’t pick up the mess. They didn’t take back the accusations that were right or wrong. But I was still forgiven, even after I repeatedly made the same mistakes.

It is most common for people to mention that their “grit” had developed during a fight to regain a position on a sports team or a committee they were involved in. Mine developed because of the loss of a position on a team, yes, but it wasn’t because I whipped myself into shape and conquered tryouts. Instead, mine developed on the base of a realization. A realization that, although I was passionate about the sport all of my life, it was no longer what I wished to do with my free time. The drive had dimmed down and it was time to move on to another passion that would follow me into adulthood. That passion had been unknown to me at the time, but what I did know was that I wanted to stretch my boundaries. I wanted to connect with more people in