You Can’t Succeed If You Don’t Fail
Especially in college, if you are gliding by in classes and not struggling at all, that is a problem. College is about continuous learning and challenging yourself to understand more and stay curious. In order to be better and wiser, you need to sometimes fall and fail. Turn those bad experiences in learned lessons!
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It’s okay to feel uncomfortable and not have things go the way you initially planned. Even if you keep struggling and struggling, you are better than most people because you have more real time experiences and exposure; essentially you know more. Obviously, there is nothing wrong with that; it’s a good thing!
For a college student, there are several instances where this may come into play. If you drop a class or you did not do well in a class, that is ok. Things happen and not doing well in a class is understandable. Just remember to take something away with that lesson- get a tutor earlier, dedicate more time to learning, change study habits, take advantage of other resources, etc.
If you had instances of bad encounters on the streets or neighborhoods, that is ok too. Campus safety always send out email alerts of crimes or mishaps near campus, so students like myself, stay notified and up to date with our surroundings. I am lucky to be a commuter and go home early evening when there’s still daylight, but for my friends who dorm, I know that it can be dangerous walking alone in the nighttime. Even if Rogers Park (neighborhood where LSC is located) is named one of the most safest neighborhoods, anything can and will happen. Like I said before, bad encounters is okay if you learn from that experience–bring pepper spray, have campus safety phone number in your phone contacts (including Dial-A-Nurse number), how to be an active bystander, etc.
Maintaining good terms with people can be difficult too. If you break trust or confidence in someone, you got to redeem yourself and prove that you are better than that. If you honestly want to continue some friendship/connection with that person, you would try your best to show that other person who you really are including how you intend to fix the problem.
Nevertheless, failure is inevitable. However, do not let that swallow you up whole and leave you lifeless. You need to be your own leader and pick yourself up because quite frankly, no one else has an obligation to do that except you. Family members can help support you, but you have to be the one making the executive order for how you want to live out your life. Fail, but have courage to feel a sense of hope and self-worth and do something about it.