I've always detested those sappy articles about how it gets better. Those never really helped me; in times of sadness the only thing I crave are sympathetic and understanding words. So here are some words to help you through your failure generated sadness.

It hurts so badly. Knowing you tried your best and thought you did really well, put in all of your effort, worked so hard, but you still failed. When your best just isn't good enough. That's the worst part. We are surrounded by a world and a culture telling us "hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard" (Kevin Durant) or "the road to success is not easy to navigate, but with hard work, drive and passion, it's possible to achieve the American dream." (Tommy Hilfiger). But what if you are constantly doing things and constantly failing? There's a quote for that too: "success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm" (Winston Churchill). It sounds so easy when its just words.

I have always thought of these quotes as emotional delusion. They trick us into thinking that things will get better, that we just need to keep on trying. But you can only try so many times before you are just emotionally, physically, exhausted. What then?

As young idealists, we all believe these things and that the American dream really does exist. That if we work really hard and if we try our very best, we all have the potential to be rich, successful, and most importantly, carefree and happy. Yet there are so many other factors that contribute to that. Times like these make it seem like pure and genetically transmitted intelligence make it easier. Sometimes, our hard work just is not enough.

Now that we've had our pity party, here's the good news: you're probably not doing what you're most talented at. Here's another quote: "everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life thinking that it is stupid." (Albert Einstein). Try something else, or try whatever you're failing at from a different angle. If you're not doing as well academically in certain classes, instead of what you usually do (flashcards, Quizlet..etc) try something else, like making practice questions or teaching your friends. Every class teaches different types of material, so don't assume the same way of understanding the content will work for each class. Try to analyze the class or ask old students how they studied.

What is failure? Generally, I would describe it as not getting what I wanted and not achieving the desired outcome. And although I hate those optimistic quotes unsympathetically telling us to push on without knowing our struggles. But there is truth in their preaching. We need to remember that failure is not permanent and that we will find a way to survive it. If you are still alive after whatever failure, you will still be alive after the next tripped hurdle. Failing is the best motivator; we just need the positive psyche to push on.