Let’s talk about failure. This seems counterintuitive for an organization called iAscend. However I assure you the ‘descent’ is just as valuable - if not more so - than the high points of your career. 

 

Failure is heavily under discussed in society. While we don’t hesitate to glorify our new promotions, we shy away from sharing the setbacks we have experienced along the way. You’re guilty of it. We are all guilty of it. As you scroll through your classmate’s LinkedIn (I know you’ve done this before), it seems like everyone around you is on a pathway to success. Hence arises this lonely, isolating, misconception that you are the only person who is failing. I constantly burdened this feeling by myself for most of my life - and especially so in my first year of university. 

 

Thus emerged the concept of the Descent. The Descent is a collection of CVs of failures from undergraduate students just like you. These CVs are mainly written from memory and are not exhaustive. There is a good chance we missed a bunch of events here and there. However, the message remains; Every single person in the world fails.

 

By no means is this my original idea. I first came across a CV of failure by Johannes Haushofer, who credits the original idea to Melanie Stefan’s  article on this topic. Since then, countless people have taken to sharing their own CVs - each whom I am thankful for. I am also thankful to the mentors I have had throughout my personal journey with failure; who shared their own struggles with me and played a role in inspiring this project. 

 

Through this initiative, I hope to encourage you to embrace and acknowledge failure. I hope this inspires more discussions about the topic and makes you feel a little less alone during the lows of your career. I know this would have made my first year in university a lot easier.

 

-Laurie