Gabler 1

Carson Gabler

Ms. Winter

English 12 Period 4

28/9/21

College Essay

What is the hardest part of being a student now? What's the best part? What
advice would you give a sibling or friend (assuming they would listen to
you)?

“Failure isn’t fatal, but failure to change might be.” As a jovial freshman, I heard this

fantastic quote by John Wooden multiple times from my father, a man who always loved to

preach Wooden’s revolutionary quotes. Listening to them multiple times would drill them into

my head, many of which I can still recite to this day. Although many are still present in my mind,

this quote stands out like the star player on a soccer pitch.

The pressure to succeed is the hardest part of being a student. Students are so scared of

the thought of failure that we shy away from outlandish ideas and avoid throwing out an answer

to a question that may be wrong. Academic culture needs to learn to accept failure and use it as a

stepping stone to greater heights. I was once a student who was afraid to fail, never participating

in group discussions and always making sure I had the answer 100% right before I spoke, rather

than every once in a while, being wrong and sparking a discussion that would ultimately improve

not just myself but everyone around me.

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Ever since I was a child, I had a knack for numbers and the endless world of math. My

mom always tells me stories about my mind-numbing obsession with numbers as a child, such as

how I would count until I couldn’t remember the next number in the sequence. It drove her

crazy. Previously, I had breezed through my math classes. Although when I reached my

sophomore year, I reached my first level of calculus. I hadn’t expected the difficulty I faced in

this new class. The struggle I had understanding the concepts and learning was unmatched by

other classes in the past. The failure and feeling of not being good enough was overbearing. I felt

that I wasn’t good enough to be in this class, silently wondering to myself if I could even sit in

the same room as my peers. I would talk with my dad every night about how I hated attending

this class and failing at all that I tried. He would assure me that everything would be okay, but

not before leaving me with that same quote, “Failure isn’t fatal, but failure to change might be.”

Eventually, the idea of failure was slowly able to change in my mind. I was starting to think of

failure as a motivator to better myself. That I shouldn’t get discouraged because of failure, it

should light a fire in me to achieve all that I want to achieve and do better when I inevitably try

again the second time. Every night, I would go home and diligently study the concepts we

learned in class, or even re-read the textbook.

Last summer, I had a chance to spread my new-found wisdom through a freshman

orientation program at our school called “Lion Ambassadors.” I was lucky enough to be able to

make an impact on these incoming students. While talking with them, I found a part of my dad in

myself. I told the same Wooden quote that my dad had told me many times before, and by the

end of our time together, I think they were as sick of it as I used to be. When we were prompted

to tell a story about our time in high school, I chose to tell my story about overcoming the
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negative social stigma behind failure. Without this aspect of my life that I had to overcome, I

would never grow as a person. This is what I believe to be the best part of being a student. The

ability to grow as a person and figure out who you really are through experiences as an

impressionable high school student. This feeling I have when I fail is no longer a deterrent for

me. Instead it is a point of discussion and growth.