Celebrating Failure (26A)

During this time of quarantine, I have decided to start running. Which if you knew me you would think this was a complete joke considering I am a huge klutz and probably the worst runner you have ever seen. I have been working out my whole life sporadically doing weight training and different strength training, however, I have never really ran, for fun at least, and definitely not outside. However, as I moved back home I decided there was no way I could possible just sit at home all day with my four other siblings because I would literally go insane. So I started running. Tallahassee, Florida, where I am from, is known for its trees and nature so I decided I'd start this running endeavor on one of our many beautiful trails to make it a little more bearable. I ran for two weeks every day for about 3 miles. Now, another detail I forgot to left out, is the fact that I have asthma which paired with running for the first time is not a very good combo. Every single day I felt like I was going to die I felt like a failure every single day. Not to mention my body was definitely not helping as it does not like running whatsoever. I was pretty defeated and embarrassed as I could only make it for about 0.2 miles of straight running before having to stop and walk. I ended up spending majority of the time walking. Then, I got a really bad bruise on my leg and ended up having to go to the clinic in order to get it checked out only to be told that I had tore a muscle from overexertion, can you imagine. So I was off running for at least a week which made it even harder for me to want to push on, yet, I did and yesterday was my first day back running and it actually started to feel, good? I'm not sure where this will go but it definitely feels very rewarding afterwards and pushes me in a new way I never have been pushed before. I learned a lot from this experience as I learned you need to definitely ease into things before going full on as you end up burning out pretty quickly, along with the fact that you can end up injuring yourself. However, if you do it correctly it can be really rewarding.

Failure, is tough. I am someone who doesn't handle failure well. I have to succeed in order to feel satisfied and it is very hard to feel like I can't do something. It is extremely hard, especially when you feel like you are doing all you can in order to succeed. It is definitely embarrassing and can lead to you wanting to take the easy route of giving up, yet, once you finally get it right there is nothing more rewarding. Failure creates a need for change and gets people to start thinking outside of the box in order to succeed, sure it sucks but it is a great tool as well. I think this class has definitely showed us how to welcome failure and to learn from mistakes in order to improve, leading me to definitely have a better understanding of failure itself. I am definitely more likely to take a risk academically and even with my interviewing processes than I was in the beginning of this semester.