Legend, Jimi Hendrix once said, “Even castles made of sand fall into the sea, eventually.” Jimi’s wise statement shows that failure will be endured in life at some point. No matter what the scenario may be, one can fail. While Jimi’s words explain that everyone can fall, he does not imply that one can learn from his or her failures and rise again. I believe Jimi Hendrix learned to accept failure and recover; he believes everyone will fall, but has the capability to recover and carry on.

I believe everyone will fail at some time in their life but can learn from that experience and succeed. In 8th grade, I experienced a kind woman; my teacher was phenomenal and inspiring. One day after finding out her husband died, she spoke to us; tears in her eyes, strength in her voice, she told us that even though her husband is gone and she will miss him dearly, she must carry on. I remember several specific statements she said. “I have to continue to be strong. You must all be the same; sometimes, in order to rise, we must fall.” Mrs. Nichols taught us countless lessons demonstrating strength. She is the strongest person I know. By accepting the loss of her husband, she has risen to an even higher level of wisdom and spirit. Every time I fall, I will try my best to climb back up in memory of her.

In my life, I have failed countless times; falling off of bikes and boards, slipping grades, even failures within myself. But I always try to get back up, to pull myself together, and to win the inner battle. Recently, my knee has become injured so that if I bend it too much, the kneecap will become dislocated and I have to pop it back into place, which hurts. Thinking back, I realize that numerous factors could have affected my knee. (I have always bad knees) 6 years of karate, 3 years of skateboarding, and or any childhood activity may have hurt my knee. My knee is getting worse; either my muscle is not holding my kneecap in place, or some other cause that is beyond my knowledge is affecting my knee. One morning, I woke up and sat on my couch. Bending my knee so that my heel almost touched my thigh, I felt a sharp pain. I acted with instinct and straightened my leg then popped the kneecap back into place. I then stood up, found an ACE bandage, tightly wrapped my knee, started walking to test the situation, and then carried on with my normal day.

I believe that without those injuries, I wouldn’t have learned and become the person I am today. Like Jimi, I believe we can learn from past experiences; by falling, we become stronger. “Even castles made of sand will fall into the sea, eventually.” I will continue to learn from my mistakes and will always follow these powerful words.