The Right to Fail

This article relates to my own experience in that I feel the everyday pressures of today’s world that tell me that inorder to be successful and socially acceptable I must “attain certain goals by a certain age.” It was not even a thought in my mind to ever take a year off after college, I always knew I was going straight to college as it was encouraged by my family and friends and that is what majority of students from my school were to do. I plan to graduate from college in four years. I have to get into nursing school on time in order to graduate in four years. This time limit that I feel I have puts a lot of pressure on me. The author brings up the question of, “what if we fail?” What if I do not get into nursing school on time and I am not able to graduate college in the usual four years? I have a fear of failing because not only will I feel as if I have let my family down and that I will not be socially accepted because I would not be graduating college in four years. The author also brings up the point of ,” boys and girls to find their proper road is often to take a hundred side trips, poking out in different directions, faltering, drawing back, and starting again.” At such a young age making important decisions such as a major for a career that I will have for the rest of my life took some time, and I still might just change my major and choose to take a different path. You learn through trial and error. Failing is not always a bad thing. Everyone has their own perception on what success is, and who are we to tell others what success is?