Set Up For Failure

I want to start by apologizing for the long wait for a new post. I recently started college, and it is definitely an eye opener. That is why I have not had much time to blog, but my experience in the short time I've been here has influenced my topic for today -are we set up for failure in the world? I want to address this issue to get people to think about the odds that are against them that they may not think about, and help them to think on how they can effectively and successfully overcome those obstacles.


I'll start at home - college. College is the place where people find out more about themselves than they already knew before. It is an amazing experience for any person to go through because besides it having so much expected of you, it is balanced out with the numerous fun and exciting things to do in your free time. Now, specifically, let's look at the point of how college can be set for a person to fail. Let's start with how you eat. At home, you usually followed 3 square meals a day, usually having your parents (more likely your mother) telling you to eat right and be healthy. Of course, you could find ways around this when you wanted and get away with it. However, things are different in college. See, in college, there is no one there to ensure you are eating right and living a healthy lifestyle. In fact, when you walk to the food courts on campus, you will see that it actually takes more to eat healthy. Healthier food usually costs more than most other food in college, and are usually smaller in quantity. Compare this to a pizza that probably won't even come up to $2 but is packed with way more calories and is larger in size. Some people say that even though you may eat unhealthy, you can still work it off in the gym or with exercise in the dorm. Think back to what I said about the newly found freedom you have at your disposal. In that free time that you have, not only are you free to do whatever you want, but you are also responsible for completing your work and reviewing notes from class. As the semester progresses, it gets increasingly difficult to find time to exercise or work out. At the same time however, you continue to consume more unhealthy food. Keep in mind, this is a theoretical situation, and does not necessarily speak for everyone, but in a lot of cases, it does hold true.

Speaking of work, there is also the case also the case of how in college, you have less time in the classroom, and are expected to study more material on your own time. Personally, I came out of high school without learning even the basics of studying. So, what was a person like me supposed to do to get acclimated to this kind of environment and expectation? This meant I would have to take more time and effort to actually learn how to study, and then make time for the work. Its funny how some people can come from the highest ranked high schools in the country, only to go to college and be as unprepared as they could imagine. Does this mean students are set to fail from the start?

In addition, some of these topics can be related to the real world. Healthy food in stores and markets tend to be more expensive than say the dollar menu at McDonalds. Everyone that comes out of school is not always prepared for the job world ahead of them. The list goes on, but I just wanted to name these examples because I believe them to be easily related. Also, they help you to wonder about if we are set up for failure or not. In my opinion, I believe that it could go either way. Maybe, we are not given everything we need to succeed to add to the challenge of the world and to make us stronger in the end. But, the flip side is that since we are not given all the tools we need to succeed, a lot of times it becomes the ultimate reason why we fail. However, that is just my opinion. My advice? Do not let the setup of your life be your undoing. Use any challenge as a way to better yourself. Utilize the resources around you, and do not let anyone, or anything be excuse as to why you fail. There are too many examples of people that made something of themselves coming from nothing for us to make excuses.

"Live your dreams, and live up to higher expectations."

~ The Serene Paradox