26A

Celebrating Failure

In this exercise, bare your soul.



1) Tell us about a time this past semester that you failed -- whether in this class, or outside of this class. Don't spare any details! It'd be even better if there was something you tried several times this semester, and failed each time.

2) Tell us what you learned from it.

3) Reflect, in general, on what you think about failure. Failure is hard, isn't it? It's embarrassing, sure, but it also means that we have to change something about ourselves. Talk about how you handle failure (emotionally, behaviorally). Finally, talk about how this class has changed your perspective on failure -- are you more likely to take a risk now than you were just a few months ago?


I think I speak for many people but the failure that I had was taking Business Finance. I came into the summer semester extremely confident that I would do great in this class despise what everyone else said about it. I came in with an open mind and just tackled this class head-on. Unfortunately this class kicked me back harder than I kicked it and I ended up having to withdrawal from the class. I was stressed, I was frustrated about every aspect of this class. I never had felt like a class was hard to me and I always had majority A’s and some B’s sprinkled in here and there.

Taking this class allowed me to learn that everything in life isn’t easy. I realized that I can’t get frustrated just because some people are better than me at certain things. I saw some people at UF pass this class with easy A’s and B’s and ended up becoming very down on myself. I did not want to go to class anymore and I felt that this school thing wasn’t for me. I ended up enrolling in the class again this semester and I am still at the cusp of failing this class. The class has gone much better than the first time but it has still been a challenge for me.

When it comes to failure, this class has allowed me to look at things through a different lens. I have seen many people who have been hit with many challenges far more important than my finance class. I have come to understand that failure is just a part of a process and it is a way of life. Without failure, you will never grow and you will never have the fire lit under you to actually succeed. This semester has still been hard with finance but the thought of failure is no longer in sight for me. I have changed my mindset to change my normal routines of doing things in order to succeed in this class.