“It is silly not to hope. Besides, I believe it is a sin.” It is an impressive line from The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Miller Hemingway. The old man, the protagonist of the book, fought against the biggest fish, he had ever encountered in his life. The fight lasted longer than expected. He tried to exhaust the fish by repeatedly tightening and loosening the fishing line, and in the end, he succeeded. However, he also had to fight off starving sharks which aimed for the fish. Eventually, the old man fought two battles with injured hands and shoulders, as while being isolated in the open sea. Contrary to what I expected, the exhausted old man never gave up. While reading the book, I felt beat, tired, as the fights seemed endless, because of his injuries, exhaustion and fear of the endless sea, but he tried again and again until the very end. He fought against the fish until the end, not losing hope. Unfortunately, he could not get the completely flawless fish, even if he suffered critical injuries. On the other hand, that was not a failure. Even if, in the end, only the fish’s bones remained due to the sharks, the old man was able to push beyond his own limits and feel truly alive. At the end of the book, the old man, who had fought bravely, smiled even though he was out of breath. Through his self-reflection and the hopeful thought that his struggles were not meaningless, I found deep comfort.

  I first studied chemistry as a sophomore, having previously focused on non-science subjects throughout high school. Also, as the student of Dept. English Language & Literature, I kept studying the same thing of English and literature which I always had done. However, it did not make me feel great. Because what I learned in university was merely a repetition of what I had already studied in schools. As learning the familiar contents and repeated them, I was not happy even getting good grades. I did not think that I was moving forward to a new stage as I had expected. I felt arid in the repeated and stable routine and even felt stuffy. As a result, I decided to do chemistry as my double major despite not having any background in chemistry at all. I might have been hesitant to challenge the new idea since I had to start learning from scratch on my own, but I never felt afraid of defying it.

  Of course, I was not always confident in taking on new challenges. As soon as I started my first semester as a freshman, I was eager to take on challenges whatever it was. As soon as I was enrolled at CBNU, I have been working at CBT as a reporter and I was charged with editor-in-chief of a manuscript of the act playing with English, eagerly yearning encountering onto some new things hecticly. I was also selected as a member of the Glocal Humanities Frontier, which is a program hosted by the Dept. of English Language & Literature. Thanks to it, I could go on a field trip abroad for the first time. In addition to various volunteer activities and working at an English institute, my first year at university was a continuous series of challenges. Throughout that time, I experienced frustration and countless moments of agony. Because of my perfectionist nature, I sometimes wanted to give up on new challenges when I could not do them perfectly. The fear of failure made me hesitate. Each time, I reflected on what I had learned and how much I had grown, guided by the wisdom of The Old Man and the Sea. I came to realize that I had been continuously evolving through challenges and failures. In conclusion, there were no failures in challenges. For that reason, I was able to overcome setbacks and take on the challenge of studying science and engineering, which was the most difficult field for me.

  The reason I am not intimidated by new environments or challenges is that I have realized failure does not exist unless I impose limits on myself. A challenge cannot end in failure. However, staying in my comfort zone never gives me the chance to hope for something greater, to believe, “I will achieve something” or “I will make it.” Moreover, it can lead to true failure. When facing something, people truly feel alive when doing something worth challenging. In that case, people develop the will to achieve their goals and the hope which gives them courage to believe, “You can be whatever you want.” Thus, there is no such thing as failure when it comes to challenges. Even if something does not work as you please, you can grow through hard work. Success only exists in challenges.

  There is a reason for feeling fearful about challenges. That is because we define limits to our abilities unconsciously. Justifications like, “I do not have any circumstances to do it” or “I have never learned it” prevent you from having hope and make you hesitant to take on challenges. If you lose hope, it will be hard for you to be defiant in the future. Naturally, without taking on challenges, one cannot foster hope. In this way, individuals become confined by their own limitations. “It is silly not to hope. Besides, I believe it is a sin,” means not to draw limits and to stop hesitating to do something. Also, it means that it is important to stick to the pure hope that you can be whatever you want. It teaches a lesson that you do not need to be frustrated or give up a chance to challenge yourself, and do not be foolish enough to abandon your hope either.

  Challenges are a series of processes to discover oneself. Through challenges, we have the power to become and create anything at any time. We cannot weigh the importance of each challenge. The only important thing is breaking limits and holding on to the hope that you can achieve everything. To do well in the equivalent way solely, is not the only thing that matters. The process from challenging to failing or succeeding makes people stronger and gives them confidence and momentum to go forth. As a result, you can make your own ways and overcome whenever you fail. Thus, there is no failure in any challenges. Just not challenging yourself truly ends up in failure. Also, the real failure is gradually losing hope. If you do not let past failures define you, then nothing—including your challenges and your life—can truly be considered as a failure. Therefore, if there is something you are eager to do, take on the challenge and grow as you do it, even if it means going against society’s standards. Do not be afraid and give it your best effort. Make your own reality. Those who have experienced both failure and success through challenges can truly appreciate both the warmth of spring and the cold of winter in their lives. When will spring and winter come in your life?