As lovely as it would be for everything to go perfectly according to plan, it rarely happens that way. There are always bumps and goof ups that happen along the way, and the most important part is that we can adjust and keep moving on.
When I got to campus, I applied for a few jobs. I went through interviews, and waited to hear if I had gotten the positions. For both cases, I had felt relatively confident about my interview and my application, but none of the positions that I applied for worked out. I was definitely broken up, but I had to keep in mind that it wasn’t personal.
After all, in the sea of amazing and well qualified women here, I was just one fish, and a first year at that (not to say that the latter hurts, but it may not help). I took a bit to center myself. Sure, it would have been nice to have a paid job on campus, but it wasn’t a requirement. There are other things I can do, and it’s by no means the end of the world to not have a job.
And I was right: I honestly am not sure I’d have time to work right now between my classes and the extra curricular activities that I’ve picked up (plus the essentials like spending time with friends, self-care time, and sleep). The biggest thing about dealing with rejection is thinking about ways to try again with a fresh start another time while moving forward and not dwelling on the past.
Another thing that’s easy to dwell on is a mistake. Recently, I missed a deadline for blogging, and I was (figuratively) beating my head against the wall for it. It’s not the first time I’ve tripped up, so I was extra mad at myself for getting behind again.
The most important things to do with mistakes are a) apologize, b) make amends, and c) take steps to avoid doing the same thing again. Some mistakes do happen twice, but it’s important to avoid letting them happen a third time.
I sent an apology email, I took action on my blog post that I missed, and I started a fresh post for the new cycle to get on my game early. I also took out my planner and marked each post assignment date clearly, and in my best writing, so I won’t let the ball drop again. For me, calendars and reminder systems like lists work wonders.
As much as it’s easy to get worked up into a funk, don’t let a mistake ruin your day. A mistake is simply an unintended error. You may not have meant to do it, but you can make steps to fix it in the future and apologize for what has happened. There’s no use crying over spilled milk! Remember that most of the times, forgiving yourself is harder than being forgiven by someone else.
No matter what, whether disappointed with an outcome or with something you’ve done, know there will be second chances, you just need to plan ahead for them.