Through out My Career - Personal Essay

Throughout my life, I have encountered several experiences which have helped shape me into the person I am today. Some of these experiences include playing sports, learning how to study, making tough choices, being a rehab technician, etcetera. The most challenging and meaningful experience in my life was failing. I could never have dreamed of failing in life or not getting what I wanted. All along, I was fortunate enough to get everything I wanted through hard work and dedication. At some point in life, these traits were not enough to get me where I wanted to be and this was most depressing experience I had.

During my freshman year in college, the second semester at the University of Illinois in Chicago, I registered for a Calculus course and at the end of the semester I scored an F. It was the scariest experience of my academic life and it made me shutter to pieces. I had nightmares of being a loser for weeks. So I prayed and hoped I would wake up and find that it was just a bad dream. The reason why this failure hurt so much was that I put so much time and effort into this class, then having to see the end result as a failure and having somebody tell you, “you’re still not good enough”. It was extremely sad, disheartening and almost ruined my confidence. It made me doubt myself and my capabilities. Thankfully, the experience was not all bad news because it changed my life forever. I have always revolved my life around school because my dream in life is to become a Physical Therapist. I know that this task requires a tremendous amount of hard work; therefore, I take my education very seriously and I willingly push myself to the limit in order to achieve my goals.

Failure is the greatest experience because it tests people and shows them their capabilities when they don’t have their powers anymore. People can take failure as a lesson or as a loss and live with the pain forever. I chose to learn from my mistakes and not let anybody tell me that I am not good enough. I like to prove to myself that, if I work a little harder and smarter, I can get what I want. Actions speak louder than words and failure is what changed my perception of life. After failing calculus and feeling sorry for myself, I started evaluating what other people have gone through and what my pain was compared to theirs.  I was born and raised in Chicago but my hometown is Palestine (located in the Middle East). These places have terrible living conditions, where residents have to deal with family members being killed and not knowing whether they will have food the very next day. When I looked at their problems and compared them to mine, I was really ashamed of myself for complaining about something so trivial in comparison to theirs. Gradually, I stopped feeling sorry for myself and was able to get back on track. I retook the Calculus course the very next semester and passed it, along with receiving the Dean’s List recipient award.

Having come from a religious household I learnt that people make their own plans and God makes His too. I have come to understand that whatever I want in life might not always be the best thing for me. God is in control of my life and He is the best planner, therefore, I have to be patient and appreciate what I have. Failure brought me to the lowest point in my life and opened up a new level of understanding for me which is something I would not change for the world. I can only imagine what I would have become if I had not faced this challenge.