I had a teacher in 10th grade English who said that ALL the time. “Take your F and move on with your life.” At some point in the year she found an assignment to give us all an F on. Was she just mean and spiteful? Some of us thought so at the time but what she was doing was trying to teach us a much more valuable life lesson than how to properly diagram a sentence. She wanted us to learn to deal with failure. To face it, accept it, and come out on the other side stronger and willing to work harder to achieve what we wanted. Today that quote is running through my mind a lot. I received my MW exam results this morning. I have failed the Practical exam once again with the same grades I had last year; C+, C+, and B respectively. The B was on Paper 1 last year but that is hardly the point. The point is I have now taken the exam 4 times and received 4 result letters. The first fail was a complete surprise to me. I thought for sure I had passed at least the theory portion. The second fail was devastating because I had thrown everything in my entire being at that theory exam and was at a complete loss as to what to do next. The third fail was bittersweet because it also came with a pass on Theory but a fail on Practical. It however did renew my chances to continue trying to pass the exam. Now, on my 4th fail, I’m taking it philosophically. It is just another set back in life which is, everyday, just a series of wins and setbacks. I’ve had far more of the first than the second in my life so I’m thinking this is not so bad. I have one more shot at the Practical and if my running theme holds true, I’ll pass it next year on my last try. Now I just have to find money to pay for the tuition again! If you would like to donate to my wine education fund don’t hesitate to let me know.
Song of the day: Strip Me by Natasha Bedingfield
4 Responses
I found my nine year old crying in her room this morning. I asked what was wrong and she said “I feel bad for you failing the MW exam.” What a sweetheart. I, of course, as a horrible parent turned it into a teachable moment and said “See, even grown-ups fail.”
OMG! I would have probably cried too if that was Nathaniel. Luckily he’s too young to get it yet. Great teachable moment. It’s not a problem if you fail. It’s only an issue if you don’t get back up.
Nova – I had a few email exchanges with Dave, and I know how first hand how painful not passing is. You, however, are taking it better than I ever did!!! If you want to talk – please call me. I was walking the dog tonight before I got home and read your post and was thinking that I really wanted to talk and connect with and see how you were doing. Then I saw your post on FB and it appears as if you are handling this with an incredible amount of grace! So bravo to you. XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO Amy
Thanks Amy! Congrats to you first of all! We do need to catch up. I will call soon!