Student Blog: Adjusting to Change and Failure

In life, many people plan out many things, which can include travel plans, school plans, or goals they want to accomplish. However, at times we, as people, need to adjust our plans because things or circumstances change. As I start my academic career, embracing change has become a major part of my path.

This fall semester, my plan changed when I was unable to pass my chemistry class. This semester, because I am a first-time college student, it was difficult for me to adapt my studying schedule for this class, and I ended up paying the price when I received poor grades for many assignments and tests in the class. Because I was not able to pass my chemistry class, I have had to adjust my plans for the future.

Although my spring semester did not affect me tremendously, it affected me later in my academic journey in college because I had to retake the class at some point. However, by retaking the class, I will be able to replace my unsatisfactory grade, and this will help me out in the long run. I have noticed that failure is not bad; when you fail, you learn from and adapt from your mistakes. With failure, you can develop your work ethic and set goals that help you overcome failure and learn to become a better person. It's also important for you as a person to be adaptable when your plans don’t go your way.

At first, when I failed chemistry, I thought that I could never overcome it. I felt defeated and like I couldn’t fix my mistakes. However, with a change of mindset and research, I was able to realize that my failure could be fixed. I realized that I could retake the class and fix my mistake. Through failing, I have learned that it’s okay to fail. The thing that matters most is what you do after you fail. Instead of feeling bad about yourself for failing, you should analyze why you made the mistakes you made and how you can fix them. If I hadn’t researched retaking classes, I would never have known my grade could be replaced with a better one.

It is important to learn and adapt as a person because in life you will face many challenges; however, it is not the end of the world. You should learn and adapt to be the most successful version of yourself. I have learned this semester in college that even if something is not as easy as you thought it would be, you should never give up on what you want to do. By giving up, you are just accepting defeat and failure. Instead of accepting defeat and failure, I have learned from my mistakes and now have learned how to study and learn material more effectively for classes, which is a good lesson to learn and carry on through my future educational career endeavors.