Photo courtesy of Elon University
With only two weeks left in my first year, I have had a lot of incredible experiences. I’ve met amazing people and made so many memories. However, at certain points in the last 10 months, I have made a whole bunch of mistakes.
Everyone fears the idea of making a mistake; there is guilt, shame and a feeling of frustration that comes with them. However, I’m teaching myself to be thankful for all the mistakes I have made. Whether it was from screwing up on a class assignment or ordering too many chicken nuggets at late night. Every mistake I have made this year is what has made this year so wonderful.
I’m not saying I was able to accept these mistakes immediately and move on. In fact, it took a lot of reflection and evaluation on my mistakes in order for me to get over them. I had to work hard to accept them and ask myself what I had learned and what I could change in the future.
I’m not the same girl that arrived to Elon anxiously on move-in day; I don’t even recognize that girl. I give so much of the credit for this to my mistakes as these have helped me mature, learn how to approach situations and know what is best for me.
I have learned so much about who I am since August, and I refuse to look back on any choice I have made with regret. Everything that happened—whether it is miniscule or major—has shaped who I am in some way.
My mistakes have allowed me to grow. They have taught me a plethora of lessons. For example, I need to start standing up for myself, sometimes I have to be the bigger person and sometimes I just have to embrace that I screwed up and move on.
Mistakes are only human, and we need to not allow them to get the best of us.
I’m going to spend the summer dusting off my shoulders and moving on to the next year.
With my sophomore year just around the corner, I cannot wait to get back to Elon and continue making mistakes.