TL;DR is the author spent years and years of dedicated effort as a gymnast and quit and did not make it to the Olympics. Describes herself as a failure as a gymnast instead of having failed (noun vs verb). And ends the piece with the suggestion that maybe we should all just settle with the knowledge that we will not achieve our dreams.
Wow. Granted I read it quickly and maybe missed something. I take a different view. While the goal/dream is admirable, it is the journey that counts. I've been successful in areas, failures in some more, and somewhere in between on others. I've learned and I've grown in each. I've learned more in my failures than in my successes and they helped shape me into who I am. I feel that if you make the best choice you can given the information you have, you've nothing to regret. Strive to be better. Be grateful for what you have. Learn from mistakes. Sometime you'll lose so hard that it is earth shattering. The goal is to be able to pick up the pieces, and keep moving. The most important step you can take is not the first, but the next.
Wow. Granted I read it quickly and maybe missed something. I take a different view. While the goal/dream is admirable, it is the journey that counts. I've been successful in areas, failures in some more, and somewhere in between on others. I've learned and I've grown in each. I've learned more in my failures than in my successes and they helped shape me into who I am. I feel that if you make the best choice you can given the information you have, you've nothing to regret. Strive to be better. Be grateful for what you have. Learn from mistakes. Sometime you'll lose so hard that it is earth shattering. The goal is to be able to pick up the pieces, and keep moving. The most important step you can take is not the first, but the next.