My friend asked me this question, and I had a hard time coming up with an answer. Oftentimes, we are so engrossed in activities (sports, extracurriculars, what’s the “right” activity to do to get to xyz) that we forget what makes us tick/what our passions are. Now what happens if our plans get disrupted? You get rejected from your dream job/partner or you don’t end up where you think you should be. What would you do amidst failure? I thought about her question for a long time, and eventually realized the answer for me is to pursue what I really love even if failure may occur or does occur. But with failure, Victor Hugo once wrote: “Change your opinions, keep to your principles; change your leaves, keep intact your roots.” Even as we grow and mature, and fail, we ought to keep our core strong and learn from our mistakes.
