Editorial

'It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed'

Friday, May 21, 2021

Every year, the month of May is marked by many significant milestones for families in our area.

Students graduate from kindergarten, from high school, from college, carrying with them the dreams of family and friends for a bright future.

Valedictorians, school board presidents and others take the stage to offer a few words of wisdom they hope will connect with those about to embark on new chapters and new adventures.

We want to borrow a few words shared Thursday night by Poplar Bluff Salutatorian Clarissa Varner, who borrowed them from Theodore Roosevelt.

“It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed.”

Those are words that perhaps we can all find a little truth in after the past year or so.

Many of us have faced challenges brought on by a world that often feels beyond our comprehension or control. Our attempts to face those challenges haven’t always been successful.

It can be easy to beat yourself up in hindsight, and some days it may feel like there are all too many people willing to help you do that.

But we have to remind ourselves, and all of the Monday morning quarterbacks in our lives, to find the same grace the graduates and community leaders speak of as each class flips their tassel and steps through new doors.

The ability to learn from our mistakes, and to show patience to others as they do the same, is not something that should be reserved only for the nights when caps and gowns are donned for celebration.