May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness. I hope you read some fine books and kiss someone who thinks you're wonderful, and don't forget to make some art -- write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can. And I hope, somewhere in the next year, you surprise yourself.
...I hope you will have a wonderful year, that you'll dream dangerously and outrageously, that you'll make something that didn't exist before you made it, that you will be loved and that you will be liked, and that you will have people to love and to like in return. And, most importantly (because I think there should be more kindness and more wisdom in the world right now), that you will, when you need to be, be wise, and that you will always be kind.
And for this year, my wish for each of us is small and very simple.
And it's this.
I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes.
Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You're doing things you've never done before, and more importantly, you're Doing Something.
So that's my wish for you, and all of us, and my wish for myself. Make New Mistakes. Make glorious, amazing mistakes. Make mistakes nobody's ever made before. Don't freeze, don't stop, don't worry that it isn't good enough, or it isn't perfect, whatever it is: art, or love, or work or family or life.
Whatever it is you're scared of doing, Do it.
Make your mistakes, next year and forever.
Please REACT to this quote at length, in your BLOG post this month!
In the past, Neil Gaiman has told us that he wished the best for everyone, follow your dreams, and to just live a good life. This year, he told us that he hoped that we make mistakes. If someone told you to make mistakes, you would think that they don’t want you to succeed in life. Gaiman makes a good point, though, that sometimes mistakes are good.
ReplyDeleteI am an expert at making mistakes and I have always been embarrassed by those mistakes. Reading this quote made me realize that I shouldn’t be too embarrassed and I should think that I tried something new. I might have failed at it, but I can hold my head up high and say “I tried it, but I don’t regret it.” Having regrets is ten times worse than making a mistake. I would rather try and fail than not try at all. It’s like baking cookies. Would you rather have a deformed cookie or no cookies at all? Something is better than nothing.
Gaiman also said that we’re learning by mistakes. Making mistakes may be tough on someone but they also learn from them, believe it or not. If you make a mistake, you learn why you shouldn’t make that mistake again. It may not be a sweet way of learning what to do or what not to do, but it’s a pretty effective way. People also tend to remember small mistakes more than small accomplishments, which also helps them learn. For example, I used to be really confused about doing interest in math, so it’s obvious that I would make mistakes while doing it. I never forgot those mistakes I made because they helped me remember what not to do while doing interest. On the other hand, I was really good at simple things like greatest common factor and least common multiple. Therefore, I always forgot how to do them after awhile. I didn’t learn anything valuable from forgetting it every single time.
The part that caught my attention the most was when he said that making mistakes means that your living. It took me a while to realize what he meant by that. He meant that we were living as humans - as a living being that makes mistakes. Have you ever seen someone that has never made a mistake in their entire life. Even if someone seems like they could not have made a mistake because they seemed flawless, chances are, they have made a mistake. If you make a mistake, you’re living normally. It’s impossible not to make mistakes because that would mean that you aren’t human. It’s okay to make mistakes sometimes because that’s what makes us who we are.
In the end, Gaiman says that we should do whatever we’re afraid of doing. We should do it if we deem it something worth doing. He’s telling us that we should dare to do whatever we want - even if we make a mistake along the way. That’s what life is - a series of choices with mistakes along the way. He’s telling us to not let the fear of making mistakes hinder our dreams.
After reading this quote, I now feel like mistakes aren’t always horrible. There are positive things that come with making mistakes. I will fulfill Neil Gaiman’s wish and make mistakes this year. I will be proud of those mistakes and learn from them. This is how I want to live my life - as a human that makes mistakes and is proud of them.
Neil Gaiman points out the truth about life in this quote. Before I read this quote, I would make countless mistakes all the time and I was humiliated by each and every one of them. I would feel sick and frustrated inside and I would dread over those mistakes for a long period of time, no matter how big or small they were, and I would continuously think of what I could’ve and should’ve done instead. And sometimes, I just didn’t try anything new at all, knowing that I would make one or multiple mistakes that would embarrass me. Some of my small mistakes in the past still continued to haunt me up until now, when I read Neil Gaiman’s quote.
ReplyDeleteAfter I read this quote, I felt like a lot of weight was lifted off my chest, and I felt more positive about everything. I feel a lot less regretful about those small mistakes I had made before, and they haunt me no longer. I don’t want to think about what I could’ve or should’ve done anymore, but I want to think about how that experience can help me in the future instead. If I did what I “could’ve” or “should’ve” done, then I wouldn’t have learned anything new. Someone who is “perfect” is not living to their fullest, and if they continue to be flawless, then they will never learn anything new. For that reason, I would rather be imperfect than perfect, and I want to continue making mistakes and learning from them. Neil Gaiman’s words have completely changed my perspective on mistakes, and I understand now that it is okay to make mistakes along the way, and that they are just part of growing up.
The only mistake I regret doing now is when I didn’t try anything new out of fear of getting looked down upon by others. Now, I realize that I shouldn’t care about what others think of me after I make a mistake, but what I have learned from that mistake. Looking into my past now, I can see how all of my mistakes shaped me into who I am today. My mistakes turned me into someone who continues to make mistakes everyday out of curiosity and the desire to be different from others, and I am glad I made all of those mistakes. If I hadn’t made all of my mistakes, then I wouldn’t be living the great life that I am today. I wouldn’t have met all my friends and I wouldn’t be where I am today. Even if my minor mistakes can leave a scar on my life, I’ll continue to keep making mistakes, and I’ll keep on learning from them.
ReplyDeleteWhile Neil Gaiman has made some very kind wishes for us in the past, they didn’t inspire and teach me nearly as much as his wish for us this year; make mistakes. Many would see this as a strange wish and not listen much to it. As you you read farther into the quote, however, you would realize that this actually a very insightful quote. Gaiman shows that mistakes prove to be a positive fortune and that you shouldn’t be ashamed at making mistakes.
What would happen if scientist gave up on an experiment after one failure? They may have made a mistake, but that only gives more knowledge. What would happen if sports stars gave up after one loss? Sure, they might have missed that rebound or fumbled the ball, but those mistakes helped them learn to not use that tactic anymore. What would happen if students stopped trying to do good in school after one bad test? Even though you received on bad grade, that taught you what you need help on. Making mistakes can actually help you in a way.
Neil Gaiman makes a very good point in this quote. If you’re making mistakes, you’re also trying new things. As humans, it’s important to explore new things, even if it means making a few mistakes along the way. It’s better try something and make mistakes then to not try it at all. If you were to never try anything new out of the fear of possibly making a mistake, your life will most likely be boring and uneventful. Trying new things is part of human nature. We are discovering new things everyday. Many things that we use in our everyday life were created because of mistakes. There’s post-it notes, potato chips, chocolate chip cookies, the slinky, silly putty, and microwave oven, just to name a few. If all the inventors of these machines were to not have made mistakes, then these things wouldn’t exist.
Gaiman points out an obvious truth about humans; we are meant to make mistakes. What would this world be without mistakes? . Before reading this quote, I was embarrassed and ashamed when I made a mistake. After reading it, though, I realized that I should most definitely not be the least bit ashamed at my mistakes. People hold back from doing certain things sometimes due to the fear that they would make a mistake, but what’s wrong with making mistakes? Humans are not perfect and making mistakes is a part of life. If I’m human, I shouldn’t have to worry about mistakes and I should try new things. This quote has shown me that I should be human and make mistakes.
In the past, Neil Gaiman has said that he hopes that you do something with your life, rather than just sitting there doing nothing. A half a decade ago, he said that he wants us to dream, spread wisdom, and most importantly, spread kindness. His quote has inspired me. He made a very clear and good point. This year, he said something different you wouldn’t expect someone to say. He wanted us to make MISTAKES. When someone tells you to make mistakes, you would feel like as if they don’t want you to make the right decisions or succeed. That’s where you’re wrong. Neil Gaiman wants us to succeed and to have a perfect life. The only way to have a perfect life is by making mistakes and learning from them.
ReplyDeleteLet's pretend you were entering a race car derby. You need to make a car out of a wooden block. You made the car. Now, you just need to test it out. You notice that there need to be some improvements. You do a trial and error process. You revise it and test it out many times to make sure that the car can go fast and if it is eligible of winning. By revising and editing your car, you have learned from your mistakes. This is what I think Neil Gaiman meant when he said that by making mistakes, you’re improving yourself. Making mistakes is a sign of a need of improvement. It sends a signal to you to make some changes so you don’t make the same mistakes again. Mistakes tell you to change some things about yourself. Also when Gaiman says that if you’re scared of something, you should do it, he doesn’t mean to jump off a cliff if you’re scared of it. He is trying to tell you to not be scared of making mistakes. You won’t get into trouble for making them. Instead, you’ll learn from them. If you are scared to make mistakes, you won’t learn. If you don’t learn, you don’t succeed. So if you don’t make mistakes, you won’t succeed.
Making mistakes is a part of life. It is how we have progressed. I now know to not regret my mistakes. I think of a mistake like a checkpoint. After making your mistake and carrying on and failing, you can always refer back to that mistake. A mistake is only worth forgetting and regretting when it has done you no good, or in other words, when you learned nothing from it. But it would take a one in a million chance for you to find a such mistake like that. In conclusion, mistakes have been a part of our if, whether we notice it or not. I think that Neil Gaiman‘s quote was very effective to me. It made me realize how important it is to learn from your mistakes. Next time I do something wrong, I’ll be sure to remember Neil Gaiman’s quote to make sure I don’t regret it.
-Priyanshi Luhar
As I read this quote I was very intrigued about the deeper meaning to this quote. I had a somewhat tough time understanding what it truly meant. To me it symbolized the fact that you need to make mistakes in order to learn new things. There are many scenarios in my life where this quote apply to. However, people may think that they never made mistakes and are perfect and I can bet you that of all the people on this Earth nobody is. Therefore the can never be no definition to perfect except for achieving maximum potential, but nobody on Earth has never gotten that far.
ReplyDeleteIn the 4477 days on this planet I have had made many mistakes whether it be as a toddler or even know but we all make mistakes. One example that I feel confident sharing is the time I had accidentally installed a virus on my dad’s computer. Now this was a serious problem because it was his work computer and it was pretty important. However, if i didn’t learn that you should never go on websites that have ads that seem pretty malicious I would have done it ten more times from then and maybe even more. So you need to make mistakes in order to learn and better yourself.
Another instance when I made a mistake was around my 8th birthday and my uncle had booked for me to get a ride in a Ferrari. I was a fanatic about cars and I still am to this day however I made a mistake that I will never come back from. When given the chance between two supercars, Ferrari 458 Italia or Lamborghini Gallardo, I picked the Ferrari. Now, the Ferrari was much newer and had a faster acceleration, the Lamborghini is the type of car you never see on the road and I blew my chance at sitting in one all because I was impatient to wait for the Lamborghini and decide to go with the Ferrari.
Finally, I would like to share the way this quote might affect my life. Neil Gaiman is a very talented author and this quote is truly remarkable. It symbolizes that life in essence is not perfect and that we can’t fix that. However, we can learn from what we previously did and not make the mistake again. My fellow classmates and I are reading “The Giver” in our Language Arts class and it has a similar meaning as this quote. The Receiver gives the next Receiver all his memories so that they don’t repeat the same mistake in the village. This helps with ensuring that no harm comes to the village and that everything is under control.
All in all, this quote was very interesting to me and it surprisingly meant a lot to me. It brought back many flashbacks of times I made mistakes and it taught me that mistakes are meant to be made so own up to them and use them to learn. Making a mistake is the only way you will learn and if you don’t make a mistake you will truly never learn anything. Like they say, if the kid touches the stove and burns his hand he won’t touch the stove again.
WOw! Guy and Gals, I'm so glad that the quote was meaningful to you!!! I'm glad that you are learning from your mistakes. It's ok to make them. Shrug it off.
ReplyDelete