One of the first things every new student hears at Georgetown University is that this is a safe space to fail. You’ve likely heard that it is an inevitable part of the Georgetown experience, which will be beneficial in hindsight. Failure at Georgetown is an elusive subject, often cloaked in euphemisms like “growth opportunity” or “lesson learned.” On paper, the university encourages embracing failure, a nod to the Jesuit values of reflection and self-improvement. But in reality, Georgetown students fear failure and avoid it at all costs.
This avoidance stems from a deep-rooted campus culture of constantly striving for perfection. This culture is not necessarily a result of the university’s actions, but students end up self-imposing these ideas. While we outwardly handle failure as a learning experience, beneath this facade, it is treated as an aberration — something to be erased as quickly as possible.
Many students hesitate to take risks in their academic careers by choosing unfamiliar — yet intriguing — courses, opting instead for safe choices to protect their GPAs. I, for one, have found myself taking a class because it seemed like an “easy A,” despite having no genuine interest in the subject being taught. Furthermore, a B+ in a challenging class is often viewed as a failure, even if the experience offered unparalleled learning.
The pressure to project competence is not just external — it is woven into the fabric of how students navigate their time here. Among my friends, I notice that we are quick to share our successes, yet we hardly discuss our shortcomings. The social expectation to maintain an image of success extends to extracurricular involvements, friendships and even relationships.
As students living away from home for the first time and going through formative life experiences, we are bound to get lost at times. Having moved to a different country for college, I distinctly recall feeling completely adrift in my first few months here. Navigating a new culture, unfamiliar academic expectations and a different social landscape was overwhelming. The smallest failures felt magnified, like not understanding a cultural reference or struggling to make meaningful connections. Yet, over time, these moments became opportunities to adapt and learn resilience. They taught me to embrace discomfort as a natural part of growth.
Most students experience different versions of failure, shaped by their unique backgrounds and future aspirations. However, no matter how different each person’s definition of failure is, it has the same negative impact on us.
While feelings of failure run rampant among the student body, pressure continues to build without much done to improve the situation. Changing our relationship with failure is of utmost importance. Yet, this seems almost impossible given the ideas we’ve built up about what happens if one “messes up” during their time here.
It is inevitable to encounter failure at some, if not multiple, points in your Georgetown journey. But that does not mean we shouldn’t create opportunities to remove the perceived risk of failure. Faculty can create opportunities for students to take risks in portions of their coursework without affecting their grades. Student organizations can foster spaces for honest conversations about rejection, struggle and resilience. However, alongside these external solutions, you must change your inner perceptions of failure. While administrative initiatives can create a conducive environment for this shift to be possible, real change will only happen when we, as students, adjust our outlooks on failure.
Failure is not a reflection of our inadequacy but evidence of growth. It shows you’re willing to step outside your comfort zone and take risks. By redefining failure, we can reduce its stigma and invite more meaningful experiences in and out of the classroom. Georgetown prides itself on “cura personalis” — care for the whole person. Extend that care to yourself, even in the face of failure.
Aashi Bagaria is a first-year in the School of Foreign Service. This is the second installment of her column “Grey Matters.”
