Failure is inevitable. We’ve all heard it, we’ve all been preached to about it and chances are we’ve all probably preached it ourselves. 

But that doesn’t stop it from hurting just as much each time we fail. 

I recently auditioned to be a part of a dance team that I thought was my perfect fit. I felt as though I really belonged to that group — and it didn’t help that everyone boosted my ego and encouraged me, saying that I would definitely make it. 

After auditions, I waited anxiously to hear back from the group; I kid you not when I say my phone became a part of me for the next few days. I was constantly on Gmail or Facebook trying to see if the results were posted. In all honesty, I was just eager to see my name posted in Times New Roman  along with the other names. 

I went in with high expectations — and crashed.

After three days of obsessing, I found out that I didn’t make the team I thought I would. 

It had only been about three weeks of college and my spirit had been shattered. 

Many of us right now are facing the feeling of rejection, whether it be from the sorority that we really wanted to be in or the basketball team. Even though some of us may not admit it, we all are pretty distraught. When someone rejects you, it’s as though you do not fit into the standards of what they are looking for, thus, you aren’t worthy enough for them. The one thing you thought you were really good at or the one thing your heart was telling you turned out to be false. Our world is shaken by that one simple word: no. 

After countless hours of silently crying in bed so my roommate wouldn’t hear, and hours reblogging inspirational Tumblr posts, I realized something: Failure is something that everyone experiences. 

As blatant as this may seem, we are constantly thrown down by rejection. What we fail to acknowledge or understand, though, is that the person who rejected you has also probably been rejected multiple times. When we’re let down, we zone in on ourselves to the point in which we don’t think of anything but our dejection and low self-worth.

The truth is, rejection sucks. But the real truth is that everyone faces it. When I realized I was being selfish, I noticed that I completely overlooked my friend who didn’t make it into the sorority she really wanted or my friend who didn’t get that internship he wanted. We are all simultaneously experiencing the same thing — it isn’t just my world who feels like it’s crashing and burning. Although it sucks, rejection is something we’re going to have to face throughout our lives, whether it be through small things like asking that girl out on a date or something as big as a job opportunity.

I don’t believe in the clichéd phrase that everyone says — that rejection happens to everyone, but it’s how you deal with it that makes you the person you are. What I do understand is how rejection feels. Everyone does. It feels awful and you have the right to cry in bed for hours, but then you have to get over it. You have to understand that there are opportunities out there that are probably much better for you. You didn’t make something this one year? SO WHAT! You have the rest of your life to change that, or, to even find something better. 

That’s the beauty of life; it keeps moving forward.

Simran is a freshman in Media. She can be reached at [email protected].