issue 19 / volume 40

It's hard to find the silver lining

» The allure of failure is hard to see when disappointment is fresh

Aidan Mouellic
Staff Writer

 

recently wrote in the Other
Press that taking chances is

happiness; living a risk-free
life is equal to living a boring,
miserable life. In that article
though, I glossed over the bit
about how awful failure is and
how if we don’t deal with it in
a constructive way, it could
erase all the positivity from
the initial risky situation.
Ifyoure a student, you're
at school because you want to
graduate and get an interest-
ing, well-paying job. Ideally
we would all be in school
just for the sheer pleasure of
learning, but most of us just
want money, and that’s okay.
When you graduate, you ll
be competing for the good
jobs along with many other
people in the same situation.
Just like how we all think
were better drivers than the
person in the lane next to us,
we all think that we're the best
candidates when we apply
for a job we really want. But

and they often discard appli-
cants for bizarre reasons. For
example, applicants who have
seemingly “ethnic-sounding”

: names have been shown to

: fare worse than Mr. and Mrs.

: Smith in the job market. Even

: if you're right for the job, you'll
: sometimes fail at achieving

: your goal; that sucks, but you'll
: have to be ready to accept that.
critical to attaining success and :
: headlines in the news about the
: record number of unemployed

: college graduates, or you’ve

: noticed that all of your baristas
: have degrees; clearly, landing

: that dream job is not asmooth

: process. Still, you'll inevitably

: anticipate success. You'll find

: that job posting that seems

: made for you, you'll apply, inter- :
: view, wait...and not get it. Ifyou :
: have normal human emotions,
: you'll be devastated by the fail-
: ure, but at the same time, the

: biggest failure would be to not
: have applied in the first place.

You've likely seen the

When you find yourself

: inthe midst of failure, or as

: [like to callit “soaking in

: the ocean of suck,” you can

: either grab a towel and dry

: yourself up or you can con-

: tinue bathing and get pruney
: fingers. lrecommend moving
: onas quickly as possible.

Psychologists have often

: pointed at the Kiibler-Ross
employers look at us differently, :
: dealing with any sort of trauma. :
: The model is comprised of

: five stages (denial, anger,

: bargaining, depression, and

model of grief when one is

: acceptance), and can be applied
: to most situations of trauma

: and failure; attempting to

: land that sought-after job

: is traumatic to many. I’ve

: experienced all stages in the

: past after failure, but now! do

: everything I can to just skip

: to acceptance because most of

: the stages aren't productive.

On the path to acceptance,

: it’s key to take the time to

: realize that no matter how

: awful failure feels, no matter

: how large and seemingly

: insurmountable the obstacles
: are, it will get better; there is

always sunshine on the other
side of the clouds. But before

: you reach the sunshine, look

: inside and try to figure out why
: you didn’t attain your goal—

: then start working towardsa

: solution. The key to making

: failures suck less is to use them
: to your advantage, and that’s by
: allowing failure to illuminate

: your weaknesses that may

: have been hidden from you.

Perhaps Michael Jordan

: said it best: “I have missed

: more than 9,000 shots in my
: career. I have lost almost 300
: games. On 26 occasions I

: have been entrusted to take

: the game winning shot, and I

missed. I have failed over and

: over and over again in my life.
: And that is why I succeed.”

The Report Card: A righteous kill

Elliot Chan
§. Opinions Editor
i) © opinions

| @theotherpress.ca

Oz deaths will define us,
regardless of how we live

our lives. Whether we fade to

black in our sleep or go out in

a blaze of glory, we want the

 

last moment to be honourable, :

courageous, and respectable.
Sadly, not everyone gets to
choose their ideal death, and
oftentimes the responsibility
falls to the people who care
for us—those who love us and
will continue to live without
us. Live or let die, the choices
can lead to compromising
consequences.

Pass: Baby Iver

The news of Robyn Benson's
tragedy echoed across the
nation and caused many to

: consider the ramifications of

: life versus death. Benson was
: declared brain dead during

: her 22nd week of pregnancy.

: In order for her child to have

: a healthy delivery, medical

: staff needed to keep Benson

: on life support, buying more

: time for the unborn child.

: Baby Iver was born 12 weeks

: prematurely, but alive—

: sadly his mother faced the

: inevitable.

: Such an event reminds us
: of the fragility of life and the

: power of medical technology.
: It not only tests our ingenuity,
: but also our humility.

: life or pro-choice, we can all

: agree that every life is precious. :
: Many animal-lovers around

: the world are still wondering
: why Copenhagen Zoo’s

: healthy giraffe had to die so

: enables us to save a life instead :

: And when a mother is faced

: with such peril, it’s a blessing
: to even have the option of

: life support, a solution that

: of losing both.

I could only imagine the

: painful experience of looking

: over a human incubator, a

: mother dead, but the baby

: alive. It still sounds like a

: science fiction story to me, but
: I guess that’s the time we live

: in now: an age where tragedies
: and miracles can occur side by
: side.

Posthumous motherhood

: is far froma sure thing. It’s a

: gamble to everyone involved,

: from medical staff to the

: family. It could lead to lifelong
: psychological damages. But to
: not take a chance would bea

: Regardless of your beliefs, pro- :

greater shame.

Fail: Marius the giraffe

gruesomely. On February

 

: 9, Marius the giraffe was

: euthanized, dissected in

: front of a crowd of adults

: and children, and fed to the
: zoo’s lions. In order to avoid
: inbreeding, Marius and his
: genetic make-up had to go.

Despite the fact that

: multiple organizations and
: Zoos were willing to take

: Marius in, the management of :
: the Danish zoo still insisted

: on the public autopsy. Marius’
: fate was publicly frowned

: upon, but it wasn’t unique.

: Hundreds of animals around

: the world are euthanized

: annually due to reasons like

: health, age, or accommodating :
: space. Sometimes killing a

: surplus animal is just the best
: solution.

But I disagree: killing

: an animal should be the last
: solution. Zoos explain that in
: order for the herd to flourish,

opinions // 15

By www.humptybumptykids.com

: individuals must be sacrificed.
: No, wrong! Although I ama

: proud supporter of zoos and

: think overall they do more

: good than harm, I disagree

: with this approach. Zoos

: should be sanctuaries for

: animals, especially those they
: are trying to foster, and nota

: place of scientific exclusion. I

don't mind simulated reality,

: creating wilderness inside a

: controlled zoo environment;
: I’m against the human

: interference, the playing God
: aspect of these zoos that take
: initiatives to eliminate those

: animals that are considered

unnecessary.
Perhaps the problem is

: not with the animal, but with
: the breeding system of the

: zoos. Or maybe we should

: just design zoos like a beef

: slaughter house—kill two

: birds, am I right?