Fail so you May Succeed by Karina

Fail so you May Succeed by Karina - August 2017 Scholarship Essay

As a college professor, I would teach about failing to succeed. I have realized that there is a great abundance of negativity rotating around the world that I live in. At school, I’m told what I do that is wrong. At work, I’m told what I need to change to be better. Watching the news, I hear of murders, scams and disasters. Even in my own mind, I talk negatively to myself of how “I am unsuccessful because I’m not this or that. I messed up on this.” Many of us have been taught to respond negatively.
What if we changed how we look at things? This is what my class would be about. Yes, there is bad out there and we need to recognize that. We also need to recognize the success that is occurring as well. This course would focus mainly on oneself and their personal experience in life. A preparation class of sorts for college and life beyond.
When I first started college, I was an unprepared eighteen- year old with no clue of what I was doing. My father went to college later in life and I am the oldest of my siblings. Though I tried to talk to my counselors so I could plan a little, they did not help me. There were no talks of what college I wanted to go to, the costs of going to college and how I could pay for school. Where could I look for scholarships? How do I choose a major? Is college for me? I was on my own to find out what to do. I went from achieving high grades in high school to plummeting grades in college. Also, I was timid and wouldn’t go to my professors for help. Luckily, I realized the following semester that I did need help and mustered up the courage to talk with my professors. I researched at the library about different scholarships.
My class about failing to succeed would be to help new or struggling college students. I know that various others have had the same questions and issues I have. In the Fail to Succeed class they would write down their dreams and goals then create a way to obtain them. They would choose someone, whether historical or present, that is known to be successful and do a report on them. I would talk to them about ways to get secular help if they need it, talk to them about money and help them realize that they can succeed. Most importantly, I would want them to know that ups and downs do occur. Sometimes, the only way to succeed in accomplishing your goal is to fail so that you can learn a better way. Failure, though it can be painful and disappointing, helps us to reach out to others and realize that what we were doing wasn’t the right way. We should congratulate ourselves on our failures because that is how we truly learn. As we increase the number of people that see failure as a lesson we will be able to create more achievements.