Failing does not make you a failure.

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The only perfect person is one who has never failed. You want to agree with me that there are none as such? Failure reminds us that we are humans and that we should keep trying until our goals are achieved.

Failure has been described as unsuccessful attempts at a goal or an objective. This could range from short term goals and objectives to long-term ones.

The majority of people have mistaken failing for failure, which I feel is very wrong. How I view failure is as the complete submission of defeat to a goal, assignment, or objective, while failing is the act of not being successful at an effort.

Failing, thus, can be viewed as a temporary setback from a course of action that can be experienced once or repeatedly. The end result of the efforts determines if such a project is a failure or not.

Permit me to share a personal experience below. Enjoy the ride with me.

As a medical student, I had a background of fair academic advantage, having attended a Gifted Academy where brilliant students are aggregated as students. My freshman year was smooth, as my brain was still hot, especially as we were exposed to science courses. In years two and three of medical school, which is considered premedical school, my grade had become average yet good enough. In my fourth year, when I was faced with two mean courses: pharmacology and pathology, my shoulders dropped. I had walked into my guardian’s office to find out my result when he greeted me with the news that almost knocked me to the ground physically.

“You did not pass!" My guardian said as I entered his office. I felt my head spin and wished the ground would open to swallow me. The only remedy was that I would be repeating the whole year for a course I could complete in two months. I really cannot remember how I left the office, but I knew I was not myself. Most of my colleagues continued on to the next year, while I had to repeat pharmacology with a few others. That period was my worst academically, as I had never experienced such academic disaster.

I actually cried. It was tough seeing my friends progress while I got stuck. The subsequent months were spent in solitude. I hardly showed up to school, not even for revision. A major step I took was to pick up the pharmacology textbook, which had about fifty-five chapters, and summarize the whole book into sheets I could easily peruse. Those summarized sheets soon became hot cakes for students, even after I graduated. During the two make-up examinations, I led my fellow classmates who were in similar shoes with me (repeating students), and by the end of the year in focus, I had scaled through the course with some significant scores.

My challenge was not concluded in medical school. I remember vividly crying to my mom, who was a nurse in the teaching hospital, after an examination, and despite interventions by her and other nurses, I still failed that course, although what I needed to do was re-sit the examination, which I did and passed afterwards. Equally, in my final year of medical school, I had to re-sit my examinations after not fulfilling the requirements at the initial shot.

I fell several times, but I did not stay down. When I failed, I picked myself up, re-strategized, and fought harder. Today, I successfully graduated from medical school.

Another milestone I achieved was not giving up on the hive after I joined some seven months ago. I was beginning to get discouraged, but my onboarder, @monica-ene kept encouraging me. Today, I am very glad I endured, re-adjusted, and made wonderful friends, and the hive has become a family to share beautiful thoughts and ideas.

Thank you for reading. I would love to have your comments and contributions 🤗