Failure Essay Topic

[prelk]

Hey All, looking for some help deciding on a failure essay.

Current ideas are:

1. Failure to apply myself in high school led to extremely limited choices for college. How it felt being told by mentors that I hadn't lived up to my potential. Using that failure and learning how to apply myself in undergrad.

2. Shortly after taking on a bigger role in my lab I repeatedly failed a week-long procedure, even after several discussions with my postdoc. Eventually, I got results, but it took nearly half a semester. Talk about how I learned resilience from the experience.

I've been leaning towards 1 because, in that scenario, I actually failed and had to live with the consequences. I view 2 as less of a failure since things worked out eventually.

Would appreciate any input, thanks.

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[Mr.Smile12]

What's the prompt?

What are the stakes in each scenario? #1 feels more like disappointment and shame than straight-up failure. I hope for #2 you actually learned how to do the experiment properly... resilience is getting the wrong results repeatedly even if you did the protocols correctly.

 

[prelk]

What's the prompt?

What are the stakes in each scenario? #1 feels more like disappointment and shame than straight-up failure. I hope for #2 you actually learned how to do the experiment properly... resilience is getting the wrong results repeatedly even if you did the protocols correctly.

It’s WashU’s describe a time you were unsuccessful or failed.

For #2 I did learn to do it properly, it just wasn’t some huge thing I was doing wrong. It was a few very small things on a rather finicky protocol (that my postdoc didn’t see as wrong when she observed me, either)

I also have academic failures in undergrad, of course. I have have personal failures with friends too, but those seem a bit too personal. I’m pretty stumped.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Read

Write Your Secondary Essays First - SDN

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Failure involves some emotional investment to achieve goals. In spite doing everything "correctly," you weren't able to reach your goal.

You are at bat , bottom of the 9th, 1 out, down 1 run. The batter before you walked to load the bases. Full count.

Do you have a situation where everyone relies on you being at your best and you disappoint them with a subpar performance or an unexpected result? Is the pressure internal or external?

Without the stakes and emotion, you are just problem solving and doing self assessment. Tell us how you took a chance... you swung and popped foul.

 

[prelk]

Read

Write Your Secondary Essays First - SDN

The Student Doctor Network provides free tools, resources, and advising services to help students become health professionals.

www.studentdoctor.net

Failure involves some emotional investment to achieve goals. In spite doing everything "correctly," you weren't able to reach your goal.

You are at bat , bottom of the 9th, 1 out, down 1 run. The batter before you walked to load the bases. Full count.

Do you have a situation where everyone relies on you being at your best and you disappoint them with a subpar performance or an unexpected result? Is the pressure internal or external?

Without the stakes and emotion, you are just problem solving and doing self assessment. Tell us how you took a chance... you swung and popped foul.

Sorry to keep bothering you, but here are just a couple more ideas I've come up with.

1. Shortly after starting as a Pharmacy Tech our stat hood went down and I was taught an improper method for making stat drugs in the clean room. A coworker walked in to ask me a question and noticed my failure in aseptic technique. She really chewed me out. I felt like a complete failure for not looking up proper procedures. Now, I always do things exactly by the book. This is definitely a failure to me, but I worry the topic is taboo.

2. During my first year in college, I adapted to my heavily increased workload by neglecting some people in my personal life, including my significant other. It took me far too long to realize this, and now, as important as school is, I make sure to prioritize my relationships as well.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

#2 isn't a failure as you have described it. It may be a mistake in life priorities, but it's not a failure.

#1 I don't know the full context of why you learned an improper processing method. That's an error in your decision-making process, but I'm not sure it's a failure as you have described it.