The Virture of Mistakes
My mother once told me that "mistakes are the most valuable lesson you will ever experience." Nobody knows exactly what you struggle with. Not even yourself. You may be consciously aware of some mistakes and difficulties you have. Yet, mistakes can reveal underlying difficulties you may have never realized you had. Whether mistakes are minor or major, such as a careless mistake on your math test, or a major mistake regarding your job, they are rich human experiences that can transform us to become more resilient, confident, well-rounded, and knowledgeable. Therefore, mistakes are a necessary part of human experience, as mistakes guide individuals to new discoveries and insights, and make us more resilient through overcoming obstacles and persevering through challenges.
Mistakes are inevitable. Without a doubt, every single human on planet earth has made mistakes. And mistakes have led to new inventions, advancements, and growth. Mistakes are a necessary part of human experience, as they can lead to new discoveries by learning from them. As a student, many teachers encourage students to make mistakes as they are a key factor in learning. For example, during my sophomore year of high school, I particularly found IM3 Math very challenging. I would constantly perform poorly on my tests, despite completing homework and participating in class. After receiving my first grade on a test, I looked over my mistakes and learned that I was constantly forgetting to apply units to my answers. Therefore, I learned from this mistake and began to always include units in all my answers. I began to see my grade rising, and from this experience, discovered the challenging concept of unit conversions and how to perform them. New discoveries from mistakes are not only confined to a classroom, but can also be applied to scenarios in hospitals. For example, in the famous medical TV show Grey's Anatomy, while Derek Shepherd was in surgery, Meredith and Lexi Grey performed brain surgery. However, along the way they discovered a brain tumor in the patient's frontal lobe. Without permission from the head of neurosurgery, Lexi Grey removed the tumor. However, this decision, seen as noble, led to serious complications. The patient was unable to speak properly and experienced slurred speech because of Lexi Grey's mistake of taking out the tumor. Despite this being a serious circumstance, this experience taught Lexi Grey the importance of research before action, and led her to discover that brain tumors should never just be removed if seen and easily accessible. She was able to learn from this mistake at the patient's expense, and in her following surgeries, never made the same mistake again. Mistakes are imperative to an individual's growth, as the more knowledge, discovery, and learning we gain, the better rounded we are as individuals.
Indeed, mistakes are imperative to learning. However, they can also impact our personal growth, as mistakes can improve our perseverance by learning to overcome challenges. Nothing is more frustrating than making the same mistake constantly. The ideal circumstance is indeed nailing it on the first try. However, unconsciously, our constant mistakes make us more resilient in the face of adversity. For example, during my Junior Year of high school, I was struggling with what I'm sure many other high school students experience: studying for the SAT. While studying, I found myself constantly making the same mistakes—mixing up grammar rules, spending too long on questions, and misunderstanding texts, causing me to give incorrect answers. Eager to learn from my mistakes, I persevered and kept studying and completing mock tests, allowing me to overcome the challenging obstacles from the "logically complete questions" on the SAT. Through my constant mistakes, I gained new insight for each, allowing me to apply my new skills to the next mock test I took. My constant mistakes encouraged me to persevere, fueled by the desire to succeed on the SAT and obtain my desired results. I learned not to give up in the face of adversity and the torturous treatment the SAT carries. Furthermore, overcoming our obstacles and becoming more resilient from mistakes was evident within my learning when studying for my AP Human Geography Exam. Throughout the year, I had constantly struggled with memorizing vocabulary, modules, and structuring my FRQ. However, with constant mistakes and feedback from Mr. Gross, I was able to overcome the obstacle of not "explaining" and "analyzing" enough, and improved my skill of reading graphs, essential for the AP Exam. Further, my constant mistakes encouraged me to persevere until mistakes were not made, eager to succeed and earn a 5. Humans seek to satisfy themselves, and especially for students, a good grade satisfies them. Therefore, unconsciously, we will continuously solve a problem if there are mistakes until we reach the right answer. And along that way, we persevere, become more resilient, and overcome many obstacles, a process many of us don't realize we do.
Whether you view your mistake as minor or major, keep in mind that every minor mistake, whether it's careless, or major mistake, whether it's life-threatening, leads us to make fewer mistakes afterwards. Each human experience is unique because our mistakes are unique to each person. Mistakes provide feedback and insight about your skills and knowledge that no teacher, professor, mentor, or parent can provide. Don't fear your mistakes, and instead view them as valuable lessons. Ultimately in the end, you'll thank them.