Fail Harder.

One of the first mantras I heard when I became an Advertising student was to fail harder. An iconic line of the sorts, I didn’t understand what failing harder meant until this week in New York.

In between getting lost on the subway, wearing the wrong shoes and even tripping a few times on busy streets, I failed quite a bit on this trip.

But the most significant failure that will always stick with me is when our National Student Advertising Competition (NSAC) team found out on this inspiring trip that we wouldn’t be moving forward to semi-finals. And, man, did that fucking suck. After hours of practicing potential questions and committing ourselves to the work, that was it. It was over.

Now, I’m talking about this here because I want anyone who is reading this to know that I failed.

As a student, I feel there’s a negative stigma associated with talking about our failures. We always have to put our best foot forward to impress a top recruiter, we have to make sure our portfolio is pristine, and we have to make sure we dedicate ourselves fully to our work (sometimes even neglecting our own mental health). Sometimes, we forget to sit down and realize we are all human. But there is strength in being vulnerable and honest with each other.

The timing of this particular failure was quite strange for me. In a mix of emotions, it felt invigorating to be in a city full of possibility, but, it also felt extremely disheartening to have lost. And, as it turns out, this momentary feeling of failure is a common thread through all the agencies I’ve visited this week.

Kim Uong at Virtue told us about a TV spot for Urban Decay that got rejected 5 times before it ran. Many spoke of getting their first break into the industry after failing 35 times. So, now, I speak proudly of failing our NSAC competition because who knows where it will lead me?

- Z