Celebrating Failure

1. Failed
• Earlier this summer I was taking the course, RTV 3411: Race, Gender, Class and the Media, from Dr. Roy and we had weekly assignment prompts which we would post on a discussion board for credit. The discussion for one week posed the question, should the media report or ignore instances of hate speech? My reply was the media should ignore instances of hate speech and I listed the reasons why I felt that way. Dr. Roy subtracted two points so I received a 28 out of 30 because she was looking for HOW it should be covered. I like to think of myself as an intelligent debater and I knew I would provide a convincing argument and get my two points back. This is where the failure comes in. I
  
  emailed her explaining my side of the situation and the fact that I actually answered what the prompt asked. She began to enlighten me about censorship not being an option and how something may not be reported but will still be reported through social media. The idea was to look beyond the "trick" question that was posed. I responded that censorship somewhat already exists in that the media does not cover when someone streaks and the perpetrator is arrested without the masses ever knowing about it. She responded that while that is true, instances of not reporting something from a professional organization and only through social media could cause more harm than good such as the initial reports on Reddit of a missing Indian boy being involved in the Boston Marathon bombings when it was really the Tsarnaev brothers and the damage it caused. Needless to say I lost the argument and did not get my points back as I initially thought I would.
2. Learning
• It was a humbling experience and it was also gratifying. Although I did not get the points, I did learn to look beyond what every question asks and to try to navigate the true purpose of a question. I learned to think critically and on a higher plane. I also gained a lot more information than I would have had I not tried to get the points back and just accepted it. I learned a lot more from the class that was not originally in the curriculum so even though I lost points on paper, I gained points in knowledge. 
3. Failure
• I think failure is a good thing. No one bats 1000% so everyone fails. Failure enables us to learn more and how to overcome pitfalls that we never would if we are always successful. It also develops character and survival instincts for when rough times do arise.
• I handle failure by looking for the benefits I gain and the lessons learned through failure. I try to see the positive side of it and seek the reasons why I may have failed. In my opinion that is the best way to change, improve and perfect. Winston Churchill said, "to improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often." A sure way to speed up that change is through failure.
• I am definitely more likely to take risks now than I was four months ago. Having numerous people decline me for an interview and still being able to fully complete all the assignments developed perseverance I did not know I had. I just use that experience to accept failure as a growing experience but to stay persistent at the task at hand.

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