Undergraduate / A person's success is defined by how he handles failures. ADMISSION ESSAY RECCOMENDATIONS! [3]

Failure and success in my life

A person's success is defined by how he handles failures. Accomplishments are just the end product of one's fiascoes and feats; however, the hurdles and ladders that he triumphantly passes through as he traverses towards the path of victory are what matter the most.

'Failure' and 'success' are just labels given by people who rate my work, but these are not the titles that define me as a person. As long as I have given my best, I can consider the product of my hard work as an accomplishment. Easily giving up or not trying at all is the greatest failure of all. As long as I have the will to pursue my life goals, the blood of optimism that runs through my veins will always be my ticket to succeed.

My life is no ordinary. If my schoolmates and friends have great advantage in terms of their family background, mine is another story. At the age of 18, my mother lost her direction in life. She stopped working and eventually left our family. My father was still a student when I was born, so I was raised by my grandparents. Growing up with old people made me feel alienated from the other children in school. At a young age, I promised myself to be successful and have a complete family, which I never had. This was my dream that I told everyone. My great grandparents and my father were ecstatic that I had a picture of my perfect future. My peers could not relate, for they had a complete family.

My misfortune even became miserable when I experienced that even my own relatives had insulted and placed doubts on my future. When I was eight years old, I attended a family reunion from my mother's side. I told everyone that someday, I would be successful in life and raise a happier and complete family. Several of my relatives laughed and commented, "Kung ano ang puno, yun and bunga." They told me that it is inevitable that I would be like my mother. I had nobody beside me. There were tears on my eyes, but I was ashamed of crying. I felt bad and pessimistic after that family gathering.

Despite all of these, my great grandparents showed me how much they loved me. They told me that only my actions and decisions could dictate my future. I started dreaming again. I started dreaming bigger. I wanted to prove them wrong, but most importantly I wanted to do it for myself. I started doing my best in all the things I do. I decided to choose to become a better person tomorrow: to be the "apo" and son that my family will be proud of, to be the kind and responsible person my friends will admire, and to be a role model that my future kids will look up to.

I made this experience as a motivation in becoming an achiever. It made me strong in the challenges I faced. It will also make me strong in the future challenges I will face. I became diligent in the things I do. I promised myself to keep being diligent in the responsibilities that I will face. I will never bury my past, for my past made me the persevering and stronger person that I am today.

Our past does not define our future unless we allow it. We are not in bondage to our past; no matter what our past is, we are responsible for what we do today. There are certainly lessons to be learned, and we know that God wants to use our failures and problems as blessings in disguise for us to be molded as better Christian persons. To cap it off, I will leave a quote from Saint Ignatius of Loyola "Go forth and set the world on fire". And I will.