The Experience Cycle

Life is a series of experiences, and every alive individual succumbs to varying problems essential
for our existence. We are obliged to face either good or bad experience with a common purpose of
educating us for survival.

As philosophy suggests, we are born to exist and experience two sides of life: trophies and
tragedies. For instance, there are at least some times when we were younger where we find it
devastating to not be allowed to eat too much candies as it will decay our teeth according to our
mothers. This is considered as a tragedy because it causes sadness to a child’s level of emotion. It is a
trophy on the other hand if we get what we want we think that’s good and beneficial personally. This
truth is universal and contradicts the notion that life exist because of experience. Fact is, experience
exist because of life.

But in a more heavy scenarios, tragedy would mean death, defeat, failure, or disappointment.
Such as death of a loved one, devastated by a typhoon, having failing grades, accidents, breaking up
with your boyfriend or girlfriend, or being sick. These are meant to be experienced by everyone as life is
not always about trophies. Insane is the person who faces no debacles in his life. There is more to be
gotten from tragedies than trophies, as the former appeals an educational experience, meaning it meant
to teach us about life, while the latter apparently appeals to positive emotions such as happiness,
gratefulness, or excitement. These includes experiences successful research proposal, having an
achiever child, being cancer-free, or learning how to cook. There is something to get there however not
as weighing as of tragedy.

We have had bad days, but more is the good in our experiences. Personally, this gets me to
think of experiences where I failed and have thought everything was too late to get up and fixed the
damages, or heal the resentment I always bear. I wanted to be as successful as everyone else, but I
thought before my age was hindering me to take a step up the stairs to reach the goals I have set during
my young age. It was a hurdle, a burden and a disappointment which stressed me, haunted me to my
sleep. But, there came a wisdom, a learning to pull myself up from the pit of tragedy I have made
myself. And after all these years, I rose and made myself a trophy out of the positive things I got from
such tragedy. It is safe to believe that tragedy is not always bad when treated with positivity, making it a
motivation to elevate one’s life and improve our responses.

Personal experiences are not balanced when it comes to varying degrees. What is heavy for me
might be light for others, and vice versa. What I think a bane is might be a boon for others. Moreover,
the ratio of trophy-tragedy is not also the same for every person. I, for example, have been experiencing
more trophies for the past years than tragedies; while other might have a reversed experience where
tragedy is superior to trophies. But this does not mean form a personal view that life is unfair, as it is
always otherwise. It is how we face and absorb it that makes it complicated. If we encounter tragedies
with confidence and versatility, learning will always prevail, and with such wisdom, lesser problems will
occur the next time. Trophies on the other hand should be received with humility and gratefulness to
whoever and whatever it came from or how it occurred.
 We all know that everyday is an experience, and when there is one, there is always lessons.
These lessons are vital in honing our perception of the world, and shows us ways on how to face
problems later in life with a more prepared emotion and concise reaction. It could save us from danger,
or could deliver us to something that could satisfy us. I realized this when preparing for a report, I always
cram and procrastinate, which had endangered my grades in certain subjects. After learning my average
performance, I have altered my routines, did my tasks on time in an orderly fashion until it grew on me
to become a standard in accomplishing my assignments. It helped me elevate my grades. This is because
of an experience I could consider as tragedy, endangering my grade, so I learned from it, apply all the
lessons until I have already claimed the so-called trophies.

Experience also shapes one’s mindset – it either turns one to be flexible and open or it could
negatively influence the mind for a lifetime, or shorter than that if changes persist. What we have been
through and will be undergoing through offers an opportunity of learning no matter how it will affect us
emotionally.

Through experience, we have the chance to understand what life is and the world that
surrounds it. This helps us narrow our comprehension on the laws and nature of life regarding our
actions and how we response and react on certain things and occurrences. It shapes our different
aspects – mentally, emotionally, spiritually and even physically. It influence our actions for the future,
influencing the motive, purpose or goal someone has to either benefit or endanger himself. Both
fortunate and unfortunate encounters contribute in building our identity and behaviour. As others
would say, experience is the best teacher, while this is true, fact remains that it can also negatively
change a person depending on the kind of experience he may have had.

There is always a silver-lining in life. When tragedy hits, an opportunity rises. However, things
are not as permanent as we think they are. Life is a series of experiences, a cycle of trophies and
tragedies. One must think that he is not the only one who suffers or being elated about things. Everyone
gets their turns on things, it’s just a matter of time. Experience, no matter what they are, are meant to
be absorbed for its lesson.