Alexus Yeakel’s Failure is awesome, is awesome. It speaks a truth that more people need to accept in the grand scheme of things. You’re never going to get the hang of something the the minute you decide to pick it up; you need to permit yourself to fail and even more importantly you need to be willing to learn from that failure. That being said, it isn’t easy to welcome failure with open arms, nobody wants to fail at anything; not sports, not business, and especially not writing. “Failing” or even just feeling like a failure sucks, and I know that from experience since it’s still something I struggle with today.
I’ve submitted over a hundred writing assignments over my college career, and most of them have had some form of critique given to them after grading. Have I read these critiques? Heck no! Nine times out of ten, I avoid reading criticism from the professor, since it usually comes with a free stomach ache and feelings of embarrassment. In my head I tell myself, “ Hey, it was a passing grade. I don’t need to know anything other than that.” But in my heart, I feel like it’s not my writing being critiqued but me, the person, instead. It leads to feelings of failure, even if the criticism isn’t negative. You feel like your way of thinking or your approach is wrong even if it isn’t, and you label yourself a failure even if you aren’t. Heck, if you think about it the thought of failure is more terrifying than actually failing.
That’s why I think Yeakel’s essay is so awesome because it pushes towards the idea that you have to put the effort in if you want to improve. Regardless of whatever aspirations or fears might be looming over you, you have to push through, fail, and grow from your experiences to truly find out what you’re capable of.
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