Failure is Always an Option by Patric

Failure is Always an Option by Patric - July 2016 Scholarship Essay

Fear of failure leaves members of the current college bound generation lost and inept.  College freshman pace around their dorm rooms screaming at John Belushi posters plastered on their walls after earning their first failing grade.  Needless to say, college has not played out the way they imagined when they applied.
Never before coming face to face with failure, these students stop preparing for the party at the Sigma-something-something house and immediately rethink their future.  Thoughts swirl through their freshman brains, “Will I graduate with honors? Will I graduate at all? Would my dad still hire me?”  Overthinking a single grade leads to thoughts of dropping out or moving back home.  Moreover, ignorance to failure is the underlying problem here. Failing and recovering from failure inspires students to continue to achieve, but not to fear failure.
Accepting failure but moving forward from downfall allows me to meet challenges that I will undoubtedly continue to face in college.  Drive defines a student by his determination to work, but failure defines a student by their ability to continue to work after they have struggled.  The first semester of freshman year I struggled with a beast of a course. Her name was chemistry.
I despised the subject, not because I was awful at it or because it was considered honors, but because no matter how hard I thought I was working at it, it just wasn’t enough. I ended up struggling through it and making it out with a C, which is not failing, but far from where I wanted to be. Other than chemistry, I did well in all of my classes and I put the time into them to get the grades that I wanted, expected, and had been so used to getting in high school. Before I knew that I was going to pass chemistry, I made an appointment with the professor for the course to discuss why I wasn’t understanding chemistry when I could breeze through courses such as engineering statics and material science. Needless to say, I went into his office a bit glum and a little angry that he had made the exams so challenging. He asked me about my study habits and how much time I dedicated to chemistry, what my major was, and what I did in my spare time. He could tell that I was not accommodated with my grade and that I had expected more of myself, but then he gave me the best, most unabridged truth. He told me that chemistry was simply not my forte. However, he continued by saying that you can still succeed even if you detest the course and the whole range of material. He then gave me the best study advice ever. He told me to look at the material every night regardless if it was for five minutes or two hours. Simply putting in some time each day to stare at the material and keep it fresh in your head makes it more easy to recall information and more efficient to study. He was right.
I left his office still disappointed with my grade, but I had a new plan and a method of attack for the courses that terrified me down the road in my college career. Since then I have made it through much more challenging courses, but I have applied my understanding of failure and it has made me a better student, studier, and person. I do not fear failure, but at the same time I do not seek failure. A student reaches the point of no return only after their fear of failing causes them to do just that, fail.  Professor John, as I will call him, did not allow me to blame my failure on anything but my own ability and understanding; however, Professor John went further to help me understand why I was failing myself and how I could fix that by being proactive in the future. This lesson is one that I will carry with me for the rest of my life and I am happy for my failure. Failure only marks the end of a career for students with an inability to recover from their personal failure. I am now able to draw my attention from the failure and look towards my next move.