A Look Into The Past: Failures And Mistakes We Make Can Take Us Into Multiple Directions

Our perceptions and reality

The statue above is Ilchee she was the daughter of Chinook Chief Comcomly. The way the statue is faced she is gazing toward the west. I was wondering if there was a specific reason why the statue was created this way. There is. Ilchee’s family was from the west and she was often found gazing toward the west where her family and ancestors come from.

I think this statue of Ilchee the “Moon Woman” is magnificent. It is also a great symbol of looking back and wondering about the what if….of our path in life. Ilchee’s family home was at Chinook Point on the Washington Coast. I visited Chinook Point recently with family. From Chinook Point, my current home is to the east. Across the bridge in Oregon.

Our gazes would cross when looking. When I think further back to my previous homes I look across the Ocean to very far lands into the currently landlocked country of Hungary.

Heritage

I can look further and find my ancestors coming from all over the world. If I look I would have to look in many directions. Europe, Italy, Germany, Vietnam, Africa, Peruvian, Japanese, Bengali, Punjabi, Jewish, Christian, Italian, British, and Iberian, going back to Momia Juanita in the 15th century in Peru. This is all part of my heritage and of course so much more. How far and how hard do we want to look to determine who I am today?

The question is how far we want to look and why. Do things from the past matter and if they do how much do they influence our lives today?

How much where I come from, where my ancestors come from, and the choices, mistakes, and failures I made show up in my life today.

Humanity

Humans are not perfect. I have made many mistakes in my life. I am sure many people have made similar mistakes. I had made mistakes in writing as well. I believe that writing stories is magical. We all have our unique voice.

Failures and Mistakes

I had failed exams before in my life. I had to drop out of classes because I took too many credits. It was simply impossible. I tried it. It did not work. Have you tried something that did not work for you?

Does that mistake or failure describe who you are today? many many moons ago, I was a college student. I was still learning and taking other classes as a pre-requisite to get into a BSN program at the University.

I thought it would be a great idea to learn Spanish. Well, things did not go as planned. learning a third language when you are still learning the second is not that easy. My original language was Hungarian. I learned English as my second language. Spanish would be my third language and I would have to translate from English to Spanish when in my head I was still translating from Hungarian to English.

I had tried to learn Spanish in a community college setting. What do you think happened? After a few weeks, I realized I was way over my head. I was lost and there was no way I could keep up. I had to take my first incomplete class.

This could have been a failure. It was not. I still completed all my prerequisites and got enrolled in the university. I completed my BSN then my MN and later a PhD. Without that class. Nobody cares now many years later that I had an incomplete somewhere in my college credits. I kept going on my planned path. Failures did not stop me. There were many. I had to take an incomplete in Statistics in college and aced in university. Go figure.

Mistakes happen every day. My most recent one was while uploading a book to get it published. Well, it all started a few months ago when my computer died. Yes, it just died, god rest its parts it served me well for over 15 years. Throughout my MN school and Graduate school. It was time. I saw the signs, low and slow starts, unexpected shutdowns, yet I had a hard time letting it go it served me so well. I saved most things yet lost a few precious images and papers, unfortunately.

Writing and Editing Mistakes

With a recent book of prompts “Creative Writing Ideas To Spark Your Imagination,” I uploaded the old cover when publishing the book. the old cover is below. I did not realize that I did not save the new cover on my drive. I thought that the image was updated. Can you spot the mistakes?

Even though I corrected the mistakes before I failed to realize I did not save the updated version and I lost it with my dead computer. I failed to see my mistake when I uploaded the book. I published a book cover with mistakes for the whole wide world to see.

I realized this mistake a day later and corrected and updated the cover as you can see below. By that time people had seen the cover of course. Did they realize the mistake or not I do not know nobody said anything. I knew.

Directions in Life

Failures and mistakes can alter what you decide to do, or they can make you push stronger and harder once you realize the mistake. I know that communication can be hard for me so I make an effort to communicate as clearly as possible. This does not always come across correctly. English is my second language after all. Some words came out differently. This does not deter me from speaking and keep trying to be a better communicator.

Imagine if you would stop speaking a language because of the mistakes you make in it. Nobody would ever learn a new language.

Jobs

I made a mistake before in my life to take a job that was for a for-profit organization. It did not work out well. I only lasted 6 months. I did not realize when I took the job how huge care would be at a for-profit healthcare organization. I simply could not do it. Now I know. I have to work for a non-profit organization. This experience changed the type of jobs I apply to when I look for a new job.

Life

Crossroads and directions change in life every day based on our decisions. Our decisions can be good or bad a mistake or not. all of it shapes us in a certain way. If I had not taken that for-profit job I would have not met my current spouse. Probably would not live where I live now and work where I work now. I would not have the same friends as I do now.

Conclusion

While Mistakes and Failures do happen in our lives it is meant to be that way to shape the person of who we are today. Life has a certain rhythm to it. It is never all beautiful or all sad. There is a balance like any road. There are ups and downs. I decided to leave the mistake on the cover of the book on the first page. I wonder if people will notice. I wonder if they care. Will find out. Hopefully, people will not judge the book by its inside cover. I am hoping they will wonder what happened.

Have you made mistakes in your life? Where did they lead you?

Thank you for reading,

Gabriella

Thank you Dr Mehmet Yildiz, Dr Mehmet Yildiz (Tech), ILLUMINATION, ILLUMINATION-Curators, and Aiden (Illumination Gaming) for your ongoing kindness and support.

Meet other amazing Medium writers in this great collection by Aiden (Illumination Gaming)