A lot has happened in the time between then and now. In high school, I pushed myself until I burned out because I was scared of who I would be if I failed. I set impossibly high standards, and when I couldn’t reach them, I questioned everything.
But failure is inevitable.
No one can avoid setbacks, mistakes or losses — and I now know that they are necessary. My failures helped me become a more interesting person because I learned from them, and I learned how to recover from them.
Who wants to read a book where everything goes perfectly? The answer: nobody. Every time you fail, you add a new plot twist to your story.
As my dad often reminds me, “Life is going to knock you down. What’s important is how you get back up.”
He has helped me realize that my fear of making a mistake is just dead weight. The more times I bounce back from my failures, the less afraid I will be to take risks, ask questions and build confidence.
I hope that the next time I feel scared to do something, I’m not going to let my fear hold me back. And maybe I will fail spectacularly.
There will always be next season.
Harry Styles put it well — it's not the same as it was. I have a feeling it’s going to be better.
In the meantime, I put together a collection of songs to be a soundtrack to help us mourn and recover from the national championship. But I think it is more than that: It is also a soundtrack for every bump we are going to hit on the road ahead.
A preview: It includes songs by Mac Miller, Rex Orange County, The Lumineers and Billie Eilish — with a little Nirvana mixed in.
There is something intimate about sharing music with someone. It’s like sharing a piece of their heart. This playlist has songs that have helped me on the worst days — and it has songs that I listen to on the best ones.
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Spoiler alert: They’re not all sad, because failure isn’t a bad thing. After listening, I hope you see that too.
@emmymrtin
opinion@dailytarheel.com
Emmy MartinEmmy Martin is the 2023-24 editor-in-chief of The Daily Tar Heel. She has previously served as the DTH's city & state editor and summer managing editor. Emmy is a junior pursuing a double major in journalism and media and information science.