Failing Forward- The Setback That Redefined My Future

John C. Maxwell popularized the term in his book Failing Forward: Turning Mistakes into Stepping Stones for Success, where he argues that the difference between successful and unsuccessful people lies in how they respond to failure. Those who "fail forward" embrace challenges, analyze their failures, and use them as fuel for future achievements – It was during my first year of senior high school that I suffered a significant setback. It was an humiliating and crushing experience that eventually redefined my future in the long run. 

It all began with our early aspirations to attend senior high schools in the science-oriented and inclined department. This is due to the ill-informed desire to pursue a profession in medicine, aviation, or any other field that seems profitable and promising to us in the future, regardless of whether or not one is even proficient in subjects that require calculation. Back then, almost all juniors who were graduating into senior schools aspired to and would have loved to be in the science field. Surprisingly, from personal observation as a seasoned educator, nothing seems to have changed in our generation — every dick and Harry would still adore being a science student regardless of whether they are science-fit or not. Their overwhelming, ignorant passion outweighs any chance of rationally determining whether or not they are a good fit for science.

And the main reason for this is that, similar to our own time, we all grew up in a culture and setting that erroneously believed that choosing science as a major instead of art or commerce, as it is commonly known in Nigeria, would be among the best and greatest decisions a student could ever make when they graduated from senior high school. We were raised with the belief that pursuing a career in science represents a bright future in terms of money or actual achievement, and that any other path that deviates from this widely accepted one is equivalent to despair (particularly in the job market) and suffering. Not only did I have an innate desire to always aim for the best in every decision I made as a teenager, but I also mistakenly believed that anything outside of "Science" might not lead to the kind of bright and profitable future that perfectly fits my goals and aspirations. I therefore went with the flow and followed the mob.  

Regretfully, I found it difficult to handle scientific lesson. I found it particularly challenging to understand its fundamental subjects. The most catastrophic outcome of my life came after my first session in the science department. And what was the startling and disastrous outcome? The punishment was expulsion from the school. My overall academic performance over the different terms that comprised an academic session was so bad that the management not only thought I was "unfit" for science class, but also thought that a ‘dunce’ like me should be expelled from school. It aches a lot. I sobbed uncontrollably, feeling as though my life was coming to an end. Where do I begin? How, too? For days, I was depressed and plagued by the notion of this unfortunate outcome. My language teacher and distant family had to put in a lot of work before the school would allow me to return after first requesting that I be withdrawn due to my subpar academic performance. But should I be stupid enough to go back to science now that I've been accepted again? That's when I realized that science wasn't made for me, and I wasn't made for science. I had to go to the art department — somewhere I felt like I belonged and where I wouldn't be doing anything with subjects that required calculations, other than math.

It didn't take me a long time to adjust and got along in the art department. Subjects like government, literature, and Christian religious studies rapidly piqued my interest. I did well in every class. I felt I could have arrived here sooner. A once dismal future now appears bright with the possibility of pursuing either political science or law at the university. 

 Years after finishing secondary school, I was accepted to pursue political science, my preferred course, at one of Nigeria's respectable state universities. I was doing incredibly well in this course. I became so brilliant that almost everyone wanted to be around me. I eventually had to use my intellectual property to help other undergraduate students with their research and tutorials in order to increase my finances. I was one of the most sought-after tutorial master in three different departments by the time I reached my second year at the university. That a once unimpressive student who couldn't even be classified as “below average” during his first year of senior high school could become someone who was even hailed by his peers as a potential First Class student was unfathomable and unimaginable. 

This is my story - a tale of a tenacious and strong warrior who refuses to let a temporary scholastic setback spiral into a lifetime of humiliating failure. A tale of a determined fighter who, in spite of the painful disgrace that came with having to repeat the same class, refused to give up and continued battling. My future was influenced by my failure in Science at the time I even had no clear cut direction about the future. Today, I am a solid political science graduate, a seasoned teacher and administrator, and a former lecturer in the political science department of one of the private institutions of education in Benue state, Nigeria. 

I am truly a living example of the phrase "Failing Forward" because of these things: my uniformed passion to become a doctor, the false societal beliefs that denigrate any choice outside of science, and my academic struggles in the early days of my senior year of science school – All of these things turned out to be blessings in disguise, redefining my future and shaping my life today.