Let Failure Lead the Way to Success by Prakrithi

Let Failure Lead the Way to Success by Prakrithi - February 2017 Scholarship Essay

Failure is an idea that not many people vie to experience. In fact, most people work tirelessly to avoid failure at all costs. However, sometimes, failure is inevitable. On the weekends, I work with mentally challenged children. I have participated in this program for over three years now, and it is truly the highlight of my week. Each day, each child learns and grows, but there are a few days, when the child is not at his or her best. On one particular day, I was assigned to a child who was not having a good day, and when he acted out, I failed to handle the situation properly.
Fortunately, the program I worked in had never had an incident where a child was out of control. Unfortunately, however, this day was the first. On this day, one child was particularly susceptible to noises and sounds and they were irritating him to a great degree. In frustration, he acted out and bit one of the counselors until they were bleeding and had to be taken to the hospital for stitches. Because I was meant to be looking after this child, I immediately reprimanded him and starting scolding him severely. As I raised my voice, the boy began to cry and I realized that I had failed not only the child, but myself as well. Being part of the program for so long, I knew how I was supposed to handle a situation like this, and yet when it came time to actually implement that knowledge, I failed. I knew not to raise my voice and scold him, because loud noises provoked him. My facial expressions were angry and threatening, which only scared him more. I failed myself because I knew that in order to handle the situation, I was to take the child to another quiet room, explain to him that what he did was unacceptable, and call his mother to come pick him up immediately. Instead, I raised my voice in a loud room, yelled that what he did was unacceptable, and did not give him the chance to calm down. I not only failed myself, but also the young boy, because he then became very closed off towards me and the rest of the children in the program until he left. I hindered his progress that day as a means to reprimand him, and that was the true failure.
However, not a day goes by that I do not remember the lessons I learned that day. The next week I requested ahead of time to be paired with the same boy and as soon as I saw him, I apologized profusely. Ironically, the boy did not even remember my scolding and immediately wanted to play with me. This alone showed me that life goes on and whatever has already passed cannot be remedied. All that I can do is learn from my mistakes and make sure that I never repeat them again. From that day I can confidently say that my skills with the children improved tremendously. I relate to the children much more, and I find that I enjoy and value my time with them much more. I improved upon my skills with these children, but also my actions with all those around me. I learned to thoroughly assess my situation before acting in any extreme way. I also learned how to be more properly responsive to any situation. Prior to this experience, I always allowed other people to take control of a demanding situation and after my experience, I had the confidence that I could properly handle a difficult situation. From this failure, I learned how to succeed in a situation with flying colors.
Failure is not a term that I like to take lightly. A failure is something that I will continue to try and avoid. However, if and when I do experience failures, I will learn from them and improve as opposed to letting them weigh me down. When I failed myself and the child I was working with by allowing the situation to get the better of me, I felt extremely guilty and was motivated to mend the situation at any cost. From my failure, I have learned to stay calm and devise a plan when faced with a difficult solution. In addition, I learned that everyone responds differently to different situations and that before I tackle a situation head on, I should survey my surroundings and make sure that I am dealing with the situation properly. My failure cleared the path for my success.