Failure Is OKAY by Kymrie

Failure Is OKAY by Kymrie - September 2022 Scholarship Essay

If I could give my past self a piece of advice, it would be that it is okay to take a failure. We are often taught that winning is the goal, objective, and end plan, and we say that failure is okay, but is it? We are taught how to win, but what about how to fail? Even though I didn't have to drop out of high school or get fired from my own company like Steve Jobs, I didn't make the cheerleading team my freshman year of high school. This, to me, felt like the end of the world.

Since elementary school being a cheerleader seemed like one of the most extraordinary and fun things you could do. From the pretty pom-poms and outfits to the sparkly bows, it wasn't every girl's dream, but it was mine. During my first year of high school, I finally built the courage to try out for the team with a few of my closest friends, and I was very optimistic about the experience. I knew I wasn't the most flexible and couldn't flip, and I had never played any form of sport in my life, but I did my best anyway.

After the tryouts were over, we all went home that Friday evening anxiously anticipating the results that would be posted outside the gym doors that night. Before I could find out the results, I was so tired that I fell asleep, but I woke up to many notifications and phone calls from my friends, and it was not what I thought it would be. After processing what happened, my friend that I went through tryouts with had made the team, but I didn't. After that, all that I could do was cry. At that moment, I tried to think about everything I had done wrong and what I could've done to ensure that I made the team, but little did I know, this experience was teaching me a precious lesson: how to fail.

Before this point, I had never failed at anything or been denied something I wanted so badly. Life always seemed to fall into my hands, but I quickly learned that wasn't how things worked. As I reflected on what happened, I realized that I expected to make the team with no training or prior practice, which taught me to always work toward something I wanted, even if I hadn't done it before. I felt devastated, not good enough, and frustrated, but the bigger picture was that I had been spoiled all my life and never told no.

After this experience, I truly understood the statement nothing worth having comes easy. If I had made the team like I had hoped that I magically would, I would've never learned that lesson still today. From that day forward, the things that I have ope to achieved I formed a plan to do so and worked toward it to ensure success. For example, I knew that I wanted to get into the dual enrollment program at my school, but to enroll, there were required ACT scores. The first time I took the test, I did no prep and did not meet the required scores. The second time I took the test, I did plenty of prep, learned which studying method works best for me, and took plenty of practice tests. By the end of the process, I had scored even higher than the required scores. I realized that it wasn't that I wasn't good enough; it was that I wasn't equipped.

Even today, I still remember the day and laugh about it because I learned many valuable lessons. I can also laugh at the experience because following the tryouts, the pandemic started, so there was no cheer, and I could completely focus on school. I am currently a senior in high school who will be graduating with a diploma and associate's degree, all while maintaining a 4.0 at both schools. I would say that's a pretty good comeback. Roy T. Bennett stated, "The one who falls and gets up is stronger than the one who never tried. Do not fear failure but rather fear not trying."