Celebrating Failure

• A time that I failed: This semester I've really been struggling in my biomechanics class. It's an APK course that combines physics and anatomy, and I personally just don't understand physics. I barely passed PHY2053 and the concepts we've been learning in biomechanics builds off of that class, so I knew I needed to brace myself. The first bi-weekly quiz we did I literally got a 50% and honestly wasn't even that surprised since I didn't know what was going on. I tried going to office hours for extra help, reading the textbook, going over the lecture slides repeatedly, and doing several practice problems. But, by the time the next quiz rolled around I still only got a 60%. With 6 quizzes, 3 exams, and 2 class activities making up our grade I started to panic because I need to do well in this class to graduate. Luckily, I was able to recover my grade by getting As on the activities and averaging B+'s on the first exam and next 3 quizzes. There is still 1 more quiz, an exam, and a final, so hopefully I can keep up my streak.
• What I learned: I learned that no matter how much you prepare or think that you're ready for something, failure can still happen. I also learned that persistence and dedication are necessary to get through failures. I could have easily given up after not getting the grades I wanted or dropped the class and accepted my fate, but I kept pushing until I got the results I was looking for.
• Reflection: It's definitely important to fail; it's a part of life and learning how to overcome it will set you up for success in the future. This class is definitely different from what I'm used to because we do a lot of work that focuses on experience and hands-on learning that can be used to face failure head on and not allow it to consume us. I wasn't much of a risk taker before this class, but I think I'm more likely to go out of my comfort zone in the future.