Celebrating Failure

    One time this semester that I failed was during Business Calc 2. I came into the class with the attitude that I already passed and that I had the skill set to do well. For the most part I did, however, I didn't put the time and effort into studying which was my downfall. I prepared for the first exam like I did any other class, but this was not like every other class. This class had challenging quizzes and even harder exams. The class was all online so I had minimal direction and it was my mistake taking it online. The first test came around and it was only 11 questions and once I saw it I knew I was about to get the worst grade of my life. I submitted the test and got a 23. A 23 out of 100. I had never received such a bad grade before and I broke down into tears. I went into my friends room next to me after she had completed her exam and she got a 103. Not only did she get 100 but she got the bonus right to get a 103. At this point I knew I had to put the extra work in and that the exam was doable. The next exam came around and I studied even harder and still wasn't getting the results that I wanted. I didn't get a 23 but I didn't get an A. I decided that the path I was taking at UF was too challenging for me and I switched to a major more my speed and I am excelling in it. 

    I learned a lot from this experience. The main lesson that I learned is that failure points out your weaknesses and can help you identify them so that you can move on from them and do something you excel in. I am a great reader and writer however, the college level math was not for me and I was an accounting major. So if it wasn't for this failure I would be on a path that really isn't for me and would just keep letting myself down. I learned to celebrate my failure, change my path here at UF, and now I have a 3.65 GPA and am excelling in my current major Management. 

    Failure is hard to accept and for me I was lucky because my teacher dropped the lowest grade so my 23 was never even factored into my overall grade. But I did cry in front of all my friends and blasted 23 by Miley Cyrus to try and ease the pain. I can say accepting that I got that grade really made me stronger and made me realize I had a great support system in college. This class has changed my perspective on failure because failure is such a concrete word that often is miss used. Most of the time a "failure" can be morphed into a great idea and this class taught me how to make connections between success and failures.