Personal Narrative: The Ultimate Failure

Filled with nervous excitement, my ten-year-old-self ran to the bulletin board eager to discover whether or not he was accepted to the choir. As he read the list of who were chosen, his heart sank; he was not on the list. “Maybe I should give up singing ” he thought; “Maybe my voice is not good enough”. However, he refused to despair; he was determined to achieve his goals despite this failure.
The decision I made that day was certainly not easy. Part of me wanted to give up and avoid the risk of disappointment and failure, but I chose to pursue my goals despite my fear of failure that stood in my way. I realized that failure is in essence a lack of success; therefore, quitting is the ultimate failure because it precludes any chance of success. From my new perspective, quitting to avoid failure would be absurd. I would gain absolutely nothing by not trying, so I decided to improve and try out again the next year.
Hesitantly, I looked towards the list fearful that my name would not be there. “I tried my best” I told myself “ what is on the list does not matter”. I slowly started to read until I reached a name near the bottom that made my heart skip a beat. I read it again just to be sure. Yes, my name was prominently displayed on the acceptance list; I finally made it into the choir. My determination had paid off.
Although I have changed a lot since I was accepted into my camp's choir, my experience with the effort to get in has had a profound effect on me. I learned the importance of tenacity and determination. I realized that in order to succeed I should set plausible goals and stay committed to accomplishing them even if things do not fall into place right away or I fail on my first try. Also, I learned not to be afraid of failure and instead to view it as a chance to improve and spur my future efforts for