文章分享-Failure is the First Step to Success

Failure is the First Step to Success

In January this year, I was playing a hockey game. I got tripped—clearly, obviously tripped—but the referee didn’t call a penalty. We lost the game, and I was furious. When I got home, I took all my anger out on my little brother and hit him. I knew it wasn’t right, but I was so frustrated I locked myself in my room.

That night, I knit a blanket and listened to Stray Kids—my favorite K-pop group. It wasn’t about hiding. Knitting and music help calm me down. They give me space to think and figure out the right attitude to face whatever challenge comes next.

I fell asleep halfway through the blanket. The next day, I got back on the ice. Magic didn’t happen—I got hit in the nuts with a puck, didn’t try hard enough, and we lost again. To the blue team this time. My dad got mad. He almost kicked me off the team. Honestly? He wasn’t wrong. I was scared to give it my all. Maybe I didn’t even know how to.

Still, I apologized to Coach Mike and promised to play harder.

Next game? Another loss. The other team tripped me again, and again—no call. We lost to the orange team. At that point, I was sick of talking about losing. Three games in a row. It felt awful.

But here’s the twist: I didn’t give up. I kept showing up.

Then—finally—I scored my first goal. I played harder. I earned the golden jersey, got ice cream, a slushie, and was named Player of the Week. How did I feel? Great. Amazing. Proud. Not because I won, but because I didn’t let failure beat me.

Looking back, those losses taught me something way bigger than hockey: Failure doesn’t make you a loser—giving up does.