About a year ago, I had to write an essay as part of my application to teach English in Korea. Little did I know how much these words would resound with me these days. Life is an endless spiral of lessons, isn't it?
The instructions were: "Please select one of the following [questions] and respond in no more than 500 words". Here it is.
The instructions were: "Please select one of the following [questions] and respond in no more than 500 words". Here it is.
What advice would you give to a student that is about to enter university?
An incoming freshman would do well during their undergraduate career by having proficiency in two practical skills: speed reading and memorization. Mastery of both may provide a person with everything they need to survive the demands of college course loads, perhaps even receiving high marks with relative ease. Many would call this success. It is a success that is measured by grade point averages or bestowed honorary titles. It feels good to be praised or to effortlessly get what we want and yet, the value of this particular “success” lacks depth. Instead, my advice to students who are about to enter a university for the first time is to become acquainted and comfortable with failure.
We must begin to accept failure as readily as we accept success. Failure need not be avoided or feared, but instead looked upon as one of our greatest teaching tools. Our true value and self‐worth are not necessarily exposed in times of ease, comfort, and acquiring our desires. Who we truly are (and who we choose to be) is exposed in times of conflict and defeat. These moments are our teachers and enable us to explore our perception of ourselves. It is within these catastrophes that we may learn and evolve.
We must first change our perception of what we believe mistakes and failures to be. A mistake is not a failure. A person makes a mistake because they are trying—they are learning how not to commit the same mistakes again. In other words, mistakes are courageous feats in which a person decides to challenge their beliefs about their own capabilities.
Failure in itself is not the end. It is our fear of failure that immobilizes us. At every moment we have a choice of how we react to a situation. It is our personal response to fear that determines whether or not we give up or fight on. Falling might not have been a choice, but not getting back up is. Bravery is admitting mistakes, enduring disappointments, and finding compassion. Success is continuing on, despite imminent blunders and chaos.
When a student enters a university, they would do well to make friends with both success and failure. Though they must not mistake success as wins and failures as losses, just as one would keep a scoreboard. Instead, look to failures and successes as reference points in the endless ocean of self‐discovery and development. The value is then placed on the process, rather than an end result.
So let us all fail once in a while and find some peace with it. Let us expose ourselves to the new and the challenging. Let us sit with the uncomfortable and the uncertain. It is when these moments occur, that we have the opportunity to benefit and redefine ourselves. When we better ourselves, we are more able to serve the people and communities that we are a part of.
Coming to Korea I have indeed become acquainted with failures and mistakes. My first teaching term was a total shit show. I am no where near learning and understanding the Korean language and I doubt I ever will be. My attempts at teaching yoga, creating relationships, and leading a healthier lifestyle have left me feeling discouraged. And I have to remind myself what I already know. It really is okay, it always was.
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