By Steven Chen
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Life is full of failures, but amidst those stinging disappointments there are those trivial successes that always recede to the back of the mind. High school is defined by both failure and success. It is through this cycle that eventually comes to memory, especially the good times, when alumni reminisce of their high school experiences. However, at the moment, high school students cringe at the thought of their failures, not realizing the level of achievement they have already accomplished in their high school career. In the words of Dale E. Graham, “you only take with you what you leave behind.”

Realize that not only does this mean that all students should be actively involved (freshmen listen up), but they should get a wider taste of life at this school. There are over 50 clubs and activities listed in the Pinnacle yearbook each year. Some students may participate in a good handful of them, but most students choose a few and stick with them for their whole four years of high school.

However, most of these activities involve some sort of component that defines success and failure, be it losing an officer election, not medaling in some competition or even not living up to one’s expectations.

It is through the failures that I now dwell on. Getting more involved means more chances of failing. The next logical step to reduce the level of  cognitive anxiety that failure causes is to be less involved. However, that defies more reasonable logic. Failing and making mistakes can breed success in many other ways. It can create determination and perseverance in an individual, making them stronger in the long run.

A prime of example of this appeared in last year’s December issue of Wired magazine in which celebrity star Alec Baldwin self-professed his failure in the film industry. However, he kept his head above water and persevered through tough times until the hit comedy show 30 Rock boosted his self-esteem.

Another example is politician Al Gore, who lost the heated 2000 presidential election but went on to promote his brand of environmentalism through talks on global warming. He made up for his losses by moving on and succeeding elsewhere.

Life can be traumatic at some points in time, especially in the turbulent high school period facing both hormones and homework. But that should not dissuade anyone, especially freshman, from participating in any activities, a decision that people will regret later.

My freshman year was bland; I stayed out of many school activities, justified by the fact that I was just a freshman and still getting used to high school. But I later learned that reasoning was illogical. In fact, because I was a freshman, it meant that I should be getting more involved with extracurriculars.

I tried to make up with it during my sophomore year, but it was no good. The failure of my inability to participate actively during my freshman year shadows all the trivial losses later on.

I realize that the trivial losses do not really matter; it is really the numerous accomplishments I have made that highlight high school. New friends and connections are cornerstones of this fact. There are over 4,000 students in Carmel High School, giving rise to numerous acquaintances formed each day.

Also, seniors, it is not over for all of you yet. You still have a year left to be more involved. Being a senior does not give you the right to slack off. In fact, senior year is the most defining year of high school; it is the year that you remember most.

Failure begets success. And success begets failure