The project…

Everywhere we look, whether it’s in our education, our personal hobbies, or in the way we connect with others on social media, we are constantly exposed to the successes achieved by our fellow peers. We see people excelling in their academic career, winning scholarships and awards. We see people obtaining prestigious internships and jobs. We see people who are leaders in our community, being idolized by our peers. When we constantly see all the successes around us, we start to think that everyone is perfect and that we are the only ones to fail and struggle. We don’t see the failures and difficulties that others have had to overcome, and as a result, we have come to fear failure. We feel ashamed when we try so hard and fail to achieve our goals.

The “Western Perspective Project” is a month-long campaign to change the culture surrounding our fear of failure, promote mental health awareness, and spark conversation within the community. Starting January 7, we’ll be sharing stories of failure that individuals in the Western community have experienced. We want to highlight the normality of failure, showing that it isn’t something to be feared, and is instead a part of life that everyone experiences. Failure provides a unique opportunity to reflect, learn, and grow as an individual; to “fail forward”. If there’s one point we want to drive home, it’s that — You are not defined by your failures.