The Beauty in Life: Our Triumphs and Errors by Lori

The Beauty in Life: Our Triumphs and Errors by Lori - June 2022 Scholarship Essay

A lesson I learned from Stephen Dedalus in A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce is to not be afraid of mistakes. We often worry about making mistakes, but Stephen Dedalus taught me that error is a part of life. We can learn from our mistakes and find joy in experiencing life. We seek perfection, but perfection is unattainable. The beauty in life is when we learn from our mistakes and enjoying life by not being afraid of errors.

In A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Stephen Dedalus said he is “not afraid to make a mistake” as his fate is “to live, to err, to triumph”. Stephen grows from a young boy to an adult throughout the novel with many triumphs and errors. Stephen accidentally broke his glasses, so he could not finish his assignments, which led to a priest beating Stephen for not completing his work. Stephen is assured he will be spared from more unwarranted discipline after he reported his beating to the rector of the school. The story continues with Stephen making mistakes, learning, and having triumphs. Stephen struggles between being extremely impious by going to a brothel and being extremely pious to become a priest. Ultimately, Stephen realizes that mistakes are inevitable and perfection is unattainable for him, so he takes the middle road of the two extremes by going to a university and becoming an artist. Stephen lived his life with errors and triumphs, not being afraid to make mistakes.

​ I have not had as extreme circumstances as Stephen Dedalus, but I have lived my life not being afraid to make mistakes. With the possibility of mistakes, we can enjoy life and treasure moments we succeed. In tenth grade, I performed poorly on my tests in AP European History class even though I studied. The next year, I took AP United States History and by then, I found a study method that worked for me: utilizing Quizlet, taking shorter notes, and writing down what I remember before the exam. I earned 100% on the final and a 5 on the AP exam because I learned from my mistakes. I felt happy from succeeding since I worked hard to get there. In college, I have had successes and errors. I triumphed when earning a 3.7 GPA with mostly A’s. I erred in English class by not fully explaining how the literary devices add meaning to the literature in the first two essays, but I learned by explaining “the how” in my last essay, earning me an A. I treasured that A because of the effort it took and because I was an artist in the essay, explaining my poem. I was free to make mistakes as an artist which helped me earn an A. I learned from Stephen Dedalus in A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man that the beauty in life is experiencing triumphs and errors, not being afraid of mistakes.