If I had the ability to always succeed and never fail at anything, I would be a completely different person.
I’d be more boastful, perhaps even cocky, and my talents would be endless. I’d be the star soccer player on the team, the smartest student in my class and would know how to play a variety of instruments, including my voice. My lacking self-confidence would be boosted higher than one could ever imagine.
Because I assume that the outcome of me attempting to do something would most likely result in failure, I decide not to do it. When I was a carefree kid in middle school, things were different. I was learning how to play the trumpet, I’d joined the choir, was one of the best players on my U-12 soccer team and had one of the highest grade averages in my class. At the time, I didn’t think much of it. Most other students were following a similar path, either with sports, school or both. As I grew up, however, I began to realize how judgmental the world is, and I noticed that many other students in my class had better talents than me. This is when I began to succumb to failure.
I gave up on the trumpet, quit soccer and only stayed in the choir because my parents wanted me to continue doing some sort of activity. Seeing so much talent shine through all those kids depressed me, and my initial reaction was to lock myself in my room and feel sorry for myself. So that’s what I began doing, and that eventually led to problems down the road. It went on for a couple of years until I met a person named Jake. He saw that I had the potential to accomplish great things, and he wanted to show me that I should take on the world as if I did have the power to never fail.
As I was saying before, I would attempt to do anything if I knew that I could never fail. The results would make me an extremely talented person. I’d even jump off a plane without a parachute if I knew for certain that I’d land on the ground safely. Unfortunately, never failing is impossible for any human being to ever accomplish, and I began to understand that even though people will end up failing at some points in their lives, it’s better to try and fail than to not try at all (except when it comes to jumping out of planes).
With the help of Jake, my lovely parents and a few close friends, I’ve slowly been getting a secure grip on the talents that I possess and the talents I can achieve through trying. Now, I’m going to graduate as a varsity player on the soccer team (not as the best player, but that's OK), I’m a group leader in percussion for the band and my grade average is the highest it's been in the past few years.
It’s safe to say that I am more of an optimistic person now than I was before starting to try out all of these activities again. I’m proud of myself for sticking with the talents that I hope to better, and that alone boosts my self-esteem. My friends and family are always there to back me up, and I’m able to let myself seize more opportunities when they come my way. Yes, I still hold back at times, but I’ve grown to learn that I’d rather work and earn my success than just let it come to me without failure.
