Opinion: Why it’s okay if you fail your finals
Around finals week, students around the country are stressing over tests, papers, and passing their classes with high marks. While it’s important to get good grades and be educated so we can prepare for our futures, the mental and emotional health of students at this time of year is fragile and needs to be afforded the same attention we give our schoolwork.
The greatest issue of failing a class is having that on your record, and if it’s a breadth or depth requirement, you’ll most likely have to retake the class or one like it. We also don’t want to waste their time in a class they just failed, but trying proves that you didn’t waste your time.
It’s okay to fail, take time away from school to save up money if we need to, and try again. College doesn’t have strict rules we have to follow in order to succeed. We have to remember to move at our own pace.
If you happen to fail a final or a class or two, remember that it’s not the end of the world. Celebrate the successes of your other classes, but also remember to celebrate your failures. Now you know what to work on for the next semester.
In an article by Loy Alexandra for Lifehack she explains, “Some people fail, and they give up on their goals. Others fail, and they gain invincible strength.” We are building ourselves up for the type of rejection and failure we will face in the future and we can’t pretend it won’t come. But most importantly, we get to see what type of people we are when we fail.
Jon Westenberg for Huffington Post did a personalized challenge where he failed on purpose every day for a year. It was scary and made him feel vulnerable, but he wrote that he wouldn’t have changed anything, as the experience changed his life. Failing can bring us out of our comfort zone and make us feel more comfortable with the smaller, accidental failures in our everyday lives.
As we study for our finals, we must remind ourselves that, while we should try our best, grades are not the most important things in our life. If we fail, we can try again. Failing can also help us realize we’re on the wrong path, and we can rethink our goals.
In the success-driven society of the United States, we’re told from a young age that failure is not an option, but everyone fails every day. We fail to get out of bed on time, eat healthily, make good on the promises we make to ourselves, or study, but these failures don’t make us bad people.
Failing is a chance to see things from a new perspective and remember that we’re human. When we understand that, we will realize that there is nothing holding us back and we can improve on our emotional health and self-confidence. These won’t be the last tests of our lives.
Graphic by Keith Wilson.
Megan Cowdell is a freshman opinion columnist studying for a bachelor’s in Communications. She loves music, reading and wants to write books for a living.
megan.cowdell@usu.edu