I Have Failed at a Lot of Things.

I Have Failed at a Lot of Things.

Fresh out of high school, I went to art school.

Yes, I know.

I was a starry-eyed kid who envisioned herself living in an attic somewhere in France, surviving on cheese and wine and painting for a living.

It was going to be terribly romantic.

I lasted one semester.

That was about how long it took me to realize that while I loved art, I had very little actual artistic talent.

So, I left.

And at the time, I went home feeling like a failure.

It wouldn't be the last time.

Over the years, I have tried my hand at many—and I do mean many—different things.

I was too clumsy to be a waitress.

Too antsy to sit behind the front desk of a hotel.

Too anxious to be a respiratory therapist.

Too weak to be a contractor.

Too impatient to be a teacher.

And perhaps too empathetic to be a human resources manager.

I've gone to college four different times, for four different things.

If we're keeping score based solely on the number of paths I've started and eventually left behind, I suppose I've failed quite a lot.

But here's what I've learned about failure:

Nothing is wasted.

Waitressing taught me to appreciate the people who spend their days serving others.

Working at a hotel taught me that people who are stressed, tired, or far from home often need kindness and patience more than anything else.

Respiratory therapy taught me that life is precious and good health is an extraordinary blessing.

Working as a contractor taught me that with enough determination—and probably a few tools—you can build almost anything.

Teaching taught me compassion. It taught me that people all around us are carrying things we know nothing about.

And human resources taught me that life is very rarely black and white.

Every one of those things I "failed" at gave me something I needed.

Every wrong turn taught me something.

Every abandoned path changed me.

Every version of myself that I eventually outgrew helped create the woman I am today.

Maybe failure isn't always the opposite of success.

Maybe sometimes failure is simply the long, winding, wonderfully gnarly road that gets us where we're supposed to go.

So try the thing.

Take the class.

Apply for the job.

Start over.

Change your mind.

Go home if you need to.

And if it doesn't work out?

Take what it taught you and keep going.

Don't be afraid to fail.
Be afraid to never have tried.

Stay Gnarly,
The Gnarly Crone