Good Essay About Failure As A Valuable Learning Experience

Failure can seem like such an ugly word. It seems like something you want to avoid in life. In school, F is for failure and it is hard to do much worse than that, unless you get a zero, or are called a loser. All these words seem very negative, but many famous people attribute failure as motivation for their greatest successes. Often, scientists make their greatest discoveries on accident, or because a test was a failure, leading to new insights and information. Failure teaches lessons that success cannot.
One time I experienced failure was a science fair competition that I wanted to win really bad. Each year I would get second or third without trying very hard, and my father motivated me to try my best to win it one year. It sounds silly and inconsequential, but because my father was involved, I wanted to make sure I succeeded. He told me that it was not winning that mattered, but trying my hardest no matter what. This is an important lesson in life, that trying hard is important. I remember many of my friends thinking it was “uncool” to care too much about grades or performance in school. However, I always decided that if I was going to be a student, I would be the best student possible. Otherwise, it seemed like a waste of time. I carried this philosophy into my science fair project. If I lost, it would not be because I could have put more planning, work and effort into the project.
The details of the project are not so important, but it involved a lot of stuff, including fish, bowls, water, lasers and lots of other variables that turned out to be a nightmare for a young student. I wanted to test if fish responded to the colors that were projected into their bowls. They would all get calm and sit in the corner with blue light, and then go crazy and swim around under red light. I used time-lapse photography over a few months. My father helped me, and it was fun. As the science fair approached, I became very confident, because my project had good results and looked very sophisticated. I dreamed about winning at night.
However, there was one problem with my plan. I forgot to factor in the talent and determination of my classmates, who also wanted to win. They were aware that I was serious and using technology and they all seemed to step up their game. It was a friendly competition, but I still thought I would win out my sheer hard work and determination. Another factor was the judging, which was fairly subjective. When I got second place I was disappointed, but my friends and teachers were supportive, and my parents were very proud of me.
There was one important lesson I learned, that has helped me accept and cope with failure in a healthy way. I cannot control everything. I can only control what I do, which is plan and prepare, stay organized, try my hardest and hope for the best. There were aspects of the Science Fair that were simply outside of my control. No matter how hard I worked, my classmates could work harder, or smarter. The judges might like my idea, or find flaws I did not anticipate. The judges might have appreciated a project with less technology and more theoretical analysis. Accepting that the world is full of variables, and I might fail for reasons outside of my control have made me an even harder worker. I also recognize how many smart and talented people are out there in the world, and if I must compete, sometimes I will lose. The biggest lesson I learned from this failure was to appreciate my success. When I set goals, and achieve them, I really pat myself on the back, because I know nothing is guaranteed and life is not always easy. Failure is just a part of life, and it makes succeeding all that much more fun, exciting and rewarding.