To help kick-start the HowtoSaveMoney.com Yakezie Writing Contest, I’ve decided to share a story about one of my big failures and what I learned. I don’t qualify to win, but I thought it would be good practice to lead by example and provide an idea of what we are looking for in your essays & posts. You are free to address any of the three questions anyway you like. The deadline for the contest is Monday, December 6th at 11:59pm applicant dependent. Best, Sam
His rough hands yanked both my shoulders back as I turned the escalator corner. My head whipped from the force and my heart stopped beating. “Gotcha!” he said as I tried squirming away. The giant man with a scruffy beard had caught my friend and I for stealing a new pair of Armani jeans and a long sleeve shirt. My life was over.
DON’T KNOW ANY BETTER
My friend, Jeff, who was not really a friend, but a senior class tennis teammate convinced me to be his lookout while he went on a shoplifting spree. I was a freshman and had just got on the Varsity tennis team and this was his way of hazing me. “With this test Sam, it’s time to prove you will be a true team player, and not a selfish little rat!” Jeff said with glee. What was I supposed to do? Say no, as a freshman who just wanted to fit in and compete on the team? No, I had to accept what they asked of me or so I thought.
My father came to pick me up from the precinct and my mother stayed at home because she was so ashamed. I felt horrible and told my parents everything that happened. There really was no excuse and I apologized profusely. It didn’t matter. My parents grounded me for six months, and I was sentenced as a juvenile to perform 50 hours of community service from an unsympathetic judge. Unfortunately for Jeff, he was tried as an adult, got kicked off the tennis team, and that was the last I ever heard of him because he no longer came to class.
CONSTANT WORRY
I spent my 50 hours of community service at the Fire Station, where the firemen and firewomen taught me respect, discipline, and punctuality. I have never met a more dedicated group of men and women than those of Station 8. They would wake at all hours of the night to answer an alarm. Sometimes it was a false alarm, sometimes it was a real emergency. Whatever the scenario, they never once complained. They were professionals, and that is what I hoped to be. Their discipline and camaraderie let them forge on through, even in the toughest of times.
By the time I fulfilled my 50 hours of community service I strongly believed I had become a better person. Despite a revitalization, I would constantly worry about whether colleges would ever give me a chance due to my juvenile indiscretions. I’d ask myself the questions: “Does it really matter if I study hard and get an A due to my mishap?“, “Why would anybody take a chance on me, when there are dozens of other worthy kids with no run-ins with the law, who have good grades?” I worried for three long years whether I’d ever go to college. It’s like going to work every single day, coming in first and leaving last knowing you will never ever be promoted. No matter. I continued to train hard for the tennis team, and study relentlessly so that I could give myself at least a chance to compete.
THE NEXT STAGE
Undaunted by my freshman year, I ended high school with a 3.72 GPA and went 10-1 in tennis my senior year as an All-District selection. A couple Division III schools came calling, and I was ultimately rejected by one of my target schools, but accepted to another. During my interview process, I came out and told them what I had done even though I didn’t have to because my record was expunged. I learned right from wrong and the importance of believing in oneself, no matter how dark the road. I also learned about forgiveness and what it means to be unwaveringly supportive thanks to my parents.
At the age of 14, I really thought my future was over. I could have just given up and gone on to be an angry teenager raging against the system. But, I didn’t allow my failure to fester. The failure was instead the most amazing motivator that drove me to just try harder! Certainly I’ve continued to have my fair share of problems since. However, without facing the judge some 20 years ago, I would be much less of a person than I am today. Thank you for letting me share my story!
Regards,
Sam
Note: If all goes according to plan, this will be the last post from me for at least a month. Next week, will will start highlighting Member Articles and then the Yakezie Writing Contest essays!
Great story – thanks for sharing. Working in retail for so long, I have seen so many kids do what you did. I’m glad to hear that at least one got back on track!
Thank you for sharing your story Sam! Very nice. That must have been terrifying, but I guess these kinds of mistakes are the ones we grow from most.
I don’t remember being scared, just disappointed and distraught mostly that I let my parents down. After that incident, I tried hard not to do so anymore although I still failed again a couple times later. That said, I think I’m OK now! :)
Nice story Sam! I appreciate you sharing it. That’s awesome how you took that extreme failure to be your motivation to achieve great success! Inspiring!
That’s an incredible story. Do you think you would have turned out the same if you had not gone through that experience?
Who knows for sure, but I don’t think so. The run-in gave me a lot of perspective and made me focus. Freshman year, I think I got only around a 3.25-3.3 (out of 4.0) given I was messing around so much. Got in way too much trouble. If there wasn’t an intervention, I think I would have got into more trouble.
So in a very big way, I’m happy this happened in the 9th grade, and not in the 11th! Also, it makes me empathize with why people who are poor do what they do. It’s so easy to be tempted to take shortcuts.
Sam, Simply inspiring. As one with a checkered adolescence and young adulthood, I really resonated to your story. For more popular examples of redemption and renewal we have only to look at Michael Vic of the Philadelpia Eagles. Rarely are our mistakes permanent. When you use them for future growth, they are invaluable.
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Great post sam. Interesting how mistakes that we make are treated as the end-all, be-all ruiner of lives, but typically end up just being life lessons and stories to take away. When something positive happens to you, do you game it out all the way to the end like you did with this situation?
When something positive happens, I take time to reflect on what happened to allow for this positive result. For example, after a promotion, I will think about the journey up until that point of time and remember what it took to get that promotion so that I don’t take anything for granted. I have a tendency to take a long breather after something successful, so the key is to be more consistent.
Wow. That’s transparency. I made some mistakes when I was a teenager, but I like to keep them to myself.
Am I the only one who saw visions of Ferris Buehler’s sister sitting in the jail waiting for her parents to come get her? Not that I’m saying you’re a girl, Sam.
I think it’s those, like you, who overcome adversity instead of buckling under it that make the real differences in the world. I’m sure the Yakezie is only one part of that for you, but you’ve definitely overcome that adversity.
Thanks for sharing your story. It’s great to see how someone can overcome an obstacle like that. Your accomplishment with the GPA and tennis and interview trumps all the mistake you made. The most important thing my dad taught me is to never look back and keep moving forward no matter what.
Thanks. If I didn’t cock up my freshman year with a 3.3, I think I would have been able to get closer to a 3.9 GPA and go to a better school, but I’m grateful for being able to dig out of the hole I dug myself in in the first place.
Good advice from your dad!
They had Armani jeans back then? ;)
Thanks for sharing your story- that experience sounds like it really shook you up and possibly even changed your path for the better.
It was definitely a good wake-up call early. It’s in my nature to rage against the machine, so the incident helped me be less of an “extremist” in a way. I probably would have gotten into more trouble if something didn’t happen when I was 14 years old.
Back then, Armani jeans had the brass eagle on the butt pocket. They were sweet!
Amazing story Sam. I have known a few firemen throughout my life and visited the station a few times and can’t thank them enough for the work they do.
Glad you learned the lesson early and it affected the rest of your life in a positive way.
Thanks man. Yeah, I remember when 9/11 happened…. I cried many times when I saw the firemen and women pass by b/c they reminded me of their heroism for being the first to try and rescue the people in the Twin Towers. I salute them all the time!
Wow, that’s pretty powerful! I can’t imagine the level of stress you had to deal with back then.
My son loves the idea of being a firefighter, he would have loved that duty that you had to perform.
It was pretty damn stressful for those 4 years in High School I tell ya. Not knowing whether everything you worked hard for after the incident was for not was a very testing situation. But, I’m glad I learned earlier than later. Thank goodness I learned earlier than later!
Wow, what a story! In one sense though it might have been a great thing to have happen to you, Sam, since it seems like you learned a lot from the experience and from your community service. I think everyone does deserve a second chance and the opportunity to learn from their mistakes… God knows I have made plenty myself as well.
Thanks for sharing!
Wow that’s a great story. I never shoplifted intentionally but almost did once on accident. I was looking at a rack of souvenirs outside a store and had one in my hand. I noticed my mom walking away so I went to go follow her but realized about 3 steps past the store that I still had some gizmo in my hand. I was FREAKED out I did that but luckily no one saw me and I was able to put it back without any sirens going off or store clerks running after me. That’s lucky you were able to work off the punishment, stay on the tennis team, and end high school with such a high GPA – great job!
Our life experiences definitely shape us into what we are today…good and bad! You learned a valuable lesson and applied it moving forward. Wonderful example and inspiration!
My mother would have KILLED me. Embarrassing her was like starting WWIII. I can imagine it now. But way to turn your life around.
Thanks for sharing your heart. Most people are willing to share mostly their success stories and less of their challenges. I find that learning from other’s challenges enables me to go further. We all run into tough times in life and by sharing with others, it gives hope and encouragement. I look forward to learning more from you.
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