“Failure is the condiment that gives success its flavor.”

The title of this post comes from a quote by writer Truman Capote and it is absolutely perfect because today I’m going to be sharing with you my experiences with failure.

Last weekend I was hanging out at a friends house.  We  were on our computers uploading photos when I decided to take a detour and check my email. In my inbox was an email form the ConnectHer organization I knew instantly it contained the results of the Girls Impact the World Film Completion which I had entered. My friend and I were so excited, I was feeling confident about the results. But the second I opened the email it was as if I had been shot, my excitement and confidence lied dead; my video was not listed as one of the finalists. 

As of today I am not in the running for the $5,000 prize or Harvard red carpet event or the chance to meet with some amazing people in the woman's rights and film industries. I Failed.

My thoughts were: I worked for two months on that film. Woke up at 5am, went to bed at 2am researched, filmed, and edited it all by myself,  when I was done I shared it with everybody – literally - all my Fb, Instagram, phone, and email contacts.  Not only was I letting myself  down but I felt I had failed all the people who believed and supported me as well.

“You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it.”
   ― Maya Angelou

Failure, losing - not winning,  it’s something I’ve been dealing with a lot recently. At this point in my life I’m trying many  new things, putting myself out there, and yes failing…a lot!  But at a certain point I’ve come to realize that sometimes no matter how much effort we put in, winning is out of our control. My friend said something to me after she watched me cry over the results, she said “your time will come. I promise”,  that simple statement gave me comfort because it  reminded me that sometime we just have to  surrender and  have faith that all is working out for the best.

If I’ve learned anything from loosing , its that every failure is a lesson in success, and by learning from failures when success is achieved it  has soooo much more (as Truman Capote put it) flavor.

You know,  looking back on this experience it was hardly a failure at all. For the first time I created a film, for the first time I used my creativity to make a difference, for the first time I was able to get people to listen, and I loved every moment of it. I may not have won in the way I had imagined but I won in a way that meant so much more.  

xoxo Summer

PS: The amount of support I got on my Girls Impact The World film was just amazing, thank you, thank you, thank you! I encourage you to keep sharing this video so that we can work towards the better representation of women in the media! http://bit.ly/girlsimpact1

“Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.” ― Robert F. Kennedy