Yep, bet you didn’t see this coming; my article is literally titled “failure.” Time out. Before you begin to form any misunderstandings, I will tell you what failure means to me. Failure is an obstacle which challenges you while on your way to success. It is something that tests your character, and you can either learn a lesson from it, or let it consume you in defeat. I am going to invite you to follow my experiences of high school failures and what I have learned through the process.

I am not talking about ridiculous fails of falling, because that would be a never-ending book of my clumsiness. For example, doing the splits in a water puddle and falling up the stairs for about five straight minutes. If you’re wondering, yes, both of these experiences have happened to me. Instead, I am talking about the failures we have all encountered. The ones which are steps to success.

Topic: Cross Country 

What I learned: Running is without a doubt not my strong suit. When I say this, I mean I had a streak of being the last person to cross the finish line in every single jv XC girls’ race. Given this opportunity, I learned to laugh at myself during competitions, to never care what I look like while exercising, to wear waterproof shoes (because you never know when you’ll run through wet mud), and the only person you should focus on beating is yourself.

Topic: Friend Conflicts

What I learned: Conflicts between friends are never going to get easier. Sometimes these disagreements will be minor enough to just move on. However, there are also circumstances in which the phrase, “forgiven but not forgotten,” will come in handy. When these circumstances arise, you must not find yourself at fault for trusting someone who aims to misuse your trust. However, after tough losses, don’t shut down on others because of this one person; everyone deserves a chance.

Topic:Acting

What I learned: When dreams seem impossible to achieve, you have to chase them. Your dreams are not coming to you or even meeting you halfway. I also learned to never let anyone underestimate me and to always challenge myself. I have participated in drama productions since my middle school years. I am in love with acting and finding that you can become a completely different person while performing is such a thrill for me. With that being said, I never really realized until this year that I have never really challenged myself. In not challenging myself, I was failing myself. So, I decided to challenge myself to a solo act where I portrayed someone losing their father to cancer with my first in individual speech. Now, I will forever love a good challenge and defying the limits.

To end, I would like to thank my family and friends who have come to my aid when these failures have taken a harder hit than expected. Finally, I would like to leave the readers with a Thomas Edison quote: “I haven’t failed. I have just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”

Kayla Seymour

A&E Writer