What is rejection? According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the word “rejected” is “not given approval or acceptance.” When one feels rejected, one most often feels the emotional lows of life. But one must always remember that this feeling is only temporary and rejection only opens up thoughts of redirection.
As E.L James once said, “I am crying over the loss of something I never had. How ridiculous. Mourning something that never was – my dashed hopes, dashed dreams, and my soured expectations.” Rejection is something everyone will face at one point in their life. After so many rejections, we become numb, creating a sort of tolerance. But after so many rejections, there is always a redirection; A “white light” at the end of a dark cave. Rejection is associated with failure, but no one has had a perfect life. Failure in itself is a key to success as most teachers would say.
Think of famous public figures that have gone through so many rejections, until they finally got an opportunity. J.K Rowling, for example, credited for the writing of Harry Potter, was rejected from 12 different publishing houses until Bloomsbury decided to offer Rowling her first contract. Now after so many rejections, why did she continue to persevere until she finally made it? The main reason was that she believed in her ideas and did not let the thought of rejection put her down. What we should realize from her life story is that we must always believe in ourselves, and our strengths and not undermine the talents we possess regardless of how many rejections we come across. Other people such as Steve Jobs faced rejection from his own company but managed to bring themselves back on top. As he said himself, "I didn't see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me." Rejection is a chance for us to reflect back on past conditions to see what could’ve been done better, or believe in ourselves and continue to try until we see that “white light.”
So, why am I writing about rejection? Well, today is March 18th, the day when 3 major UCs released their admission decisions. Long story short, I got waitlisted for all 3 of those colleges, which is basically a rejection without the added emotional trauma. The chances of getting out of the waitlist are, on average, 10%. Instead of collapsing to my knees and questioning my worth, I thought about everything that I had done all 4 years of my life in high school; Thought about everything I had accomplished, and everything I planned on accomplishing. I came to realize that this minor rejection was not the “end of the world.” I realized all the other opportunities I was blessed with in form of admission to various other colleges. Even though I would’ve loved to see that “Congratulations” at the top of my UCLA or UCI letter, the fact is, I did not get that reality. There is no point in crying for something that you never had or something that is out of your control. No one can change the past but you can certainly change the present and the future.
Always remember that rejection is a form of failure, but failure is the only working key to success.
Sources
Quotes:
https://www.heart.co.uk/showbiz/10-stars-who-were-rejected-before-making-it-big/steve-jobs/
https://www.therichgetsricher.com/50-rejection-quotes-on-life-by-famous-people/
Examples:
https://www.insider.com/revealed-jk-rowlings-original-pitch-for-harry-potter-2017-10#:~:text=T
he%20novel%20was%20rejected%20by,houses%20before%20Bloomsbury%20accepted%20it.
&text=It%20goes%20on%3A%20%22A%20copy,J.K.%20Rowling%20her%20first%20contract
https://www.heart.co.uk/showbiz/10-stars-who-were-rejected-before-making-it-big/steve-jobs/
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