Topic: Recount an incident or time when you experienced failure. How did it affect you, and what lessons did you learn?
"Help!" I yelled. Lying down on the snow, I was desperately waiting for someone to notice me and help me out from my skateboard. After a while, a friend heard me and called a manager in ski resort for help. Finally I was carried off on a stretcher. That was what happened when I went to Lapland to ski with other exchange students from AFS organization.
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You should take full advantage of the 650 words you're allowed. So, there's a lot of room for development. Also, it isn't clear what the failure is - I don't think hurting yourself would be failure. Develop more on the initial sadness you felt which you can talk about as failure. Then you bring in the point about embracing life as it comes.
Sorry about this repost, but I am unable to edit previous one. So I modify some sentences to increase readability and I am looking for some advices. Do please comment, thank you!
Listening to the howl of the wind, I was standing on the top of Pyhätunturi, one of the most popular skiing resorts in Finland. I have learned how to ski in Jalasjärvi and it turns out to be such fun. No reason for me to not try the skateboard. However, this time I tripped and fell over. I failed to keep the balance and lost my mind. When I tried to get up, a wave of pain and nausea hits me. I yelled for help. There were few people around. But, fortunately, another exchange student noticed and helped me. I was carried off on a stretcher eventually. This is only the beginning of my struggle. The resulting injuries caused a forced stillness and inability to work. Though the injuries from the accident were not severe: a broken wrist, torn ligaments and tendons in both wrists, yet they make it painfully difficult to take care of myself. Being able to use only few fingers and having limited use of the other hand made routine tasks struggling. I cannot even dress myself properly. I was unable to unfold cans with a knife or scissors unless I could open it with my teeth! Everything took time, concentrated effort and something I didn't know I had: enormous patience. Instead of rushing through breakfast, riding to bus stop, leaving my bicycle lying down on the ground every morning, I could only wake up early and walk to pull-in. Everything slowed down and became a meditation. After two weeks of doing things slowly one at a time, without being able to ride, only leaving house for school, I found peace and calmness since my failed attempt to keep balance. I learned when life is frantic and unsettled, resist the urge to do many things at once. Do one thing at a time and do it slowly and thoughtfully.
The first day I walked into school clumsily, arm-in-a-cast, I was astonished to find out that not only didn't my injuries matter to others, but they expected me to be in charge. They would still let me to do all the work as usual, moving tables and chairs, writing pages of homework. I failed to take notes down and did not pay full attention to the teacher despite my mind was in fact functioning perfectly. And what I learned second is that people will only consider you as a victim only if you choose to act like a victim. Therefore, on the second day of school, I decided that I cannot give up learning simply for "losing" my left arm. At the end of class, I got A in all subjects compared with B+ I got from last semester.
At the beginning of my recovery, some of friends were so very kind. They asked me how did I feel and sent me warm greetings. I felt so good to recall because I knew now how good receiving kindness felt. Each time someone was kind, friend or stranger, I asked myself how many times I have sent my greetings to others. Though some other friends were busy with their own lives and some struggled, I was grateful for each kind regard I received. Through introspection, I learned my third lesson: no matter how busy or troubled life is, catch the opportunity for an act of kindness, even a small one will make a difference.
Gradually, I gained back my abilities to lead a colorful life. On the day when the plaster was removed from my wrist, I said to my host father, "Oli hieno päivä!"( What a great day!) The experience made me realized how wonderful my life is and turned me to someone who is grateful and appreciates the life he had. Learning from my failure, I would never forget the art of a balanced life.
