Facing delayed success can often be a daunting experience for many young people. At Titian, each young person is guided not only to focus on success or achieving their final goals but also on their journey. Along this path, they face challenges and obstacles that can sometimes impact their psychological well-being. However, they eventually realize that success is not just about reaching the ultimate goal, but also about how they confront failure with courage.
Certainly, all mentors in Titian consistently provide support, reminding the scholarship students that they are remarkable because they are willing to try and put in the effort. Every attempt made is truly something they can be proud of. Every struggle, including the courage to overcome laziness to acquire self-improvement, is always appreciated. In addition, Titian facilitators continually encourage them to rise again, inspiring them with the message that failure is not the end of everything, and emphasizing that their current achievements are part of a process leading to greater success.
From the perspective of David Kolb’s ‘Experiential Learning’ theory, every failure is a priceless lesson. The Experiential Learning method popularized by Kolb is pivotal for Scholarship Programme at Titian, supporting the personal development of the scholarship students. According to Kolb, failure is an essential element of learning from experience, providing the opportunity to find new solutions. By experiencing failure, the young people at Titian learn not to give up easily but to continue trying in more efficient and suitable ways. Ultimately, they are able to win in a broader sense. Titian scholarship students are not only guided to achieve academic excellence or win competitions, but also to develop life skills, including handling ‘delayed success’. They are embraced. Guided.
This piece shares the stories of how four of our scholarship students—two from Bayat and two from Lombok—have responded to failure as a stepping stone to progress. They have learned that true victory comes when they rise again and try, even when faced with storms and steep paths. In the end, these young people still win—not solely because they reached the set goals, but because they managed to overcome delayed success, learn from the experience, and grow stronger.
Marko’s Story: Discovering My Best Self
I want to share my story about my experience participating in the NTB-wide basketball player selection to go to Lithuania. I was so excited when I got this opportunity, especially since I have loved basketball since I was in middle school. During the selection, I met many great players my age from all over NTB. Many of them were even taller than 180 cm, like me. I participated in the selection for three consecutive days. On the first day, we went through physical selection, including measuring height, weight, vertical jump, and sprint. I was very confident on the first day because my vertical jump was among the highest, around 316 cm! But on the last day, my game completely fell apart, and I couldn’t even dribble the ball correctly, unlike the others. As a result, I didn’t pass the selection. Even though I failed, I am very grateful and happy that I took part in the selection. I learned a lot. I became aware of my weaknesses and now have a target to surpass the great players in NTB. Although I was initially frustrated, I tried to get back up again. Also, the support from my Titian mentors and my parents was always there.
Titian has given me a lot of motivation and materials that have boosted my spirit to keep training, such as lessons on Self-Love and Priority Scales, which helped me appreciate myself without overburdening myself and taught me to manage my training schedule for better results. The motivation from alumni and speakers during Titian’s Literacy Class also helped me stay enthusiastic and not give up, despite the limitations in training facilities.
From my experience, I hope my friends will stay motivated to achieve their dreams. Even though we may fail sometimes, we should use those failures as lessons to become better versions of ourselves.
Rosa’s Story: Life Goes On
Continuing education at university is a dream for many people, including myself. When I was still in high school, I had a strong desire to apply to a public university through the SNBP program, but I wasn’t among the top 40 percent of students at my school, meaning I wasn’t eligible to apply through that selection. I worked to recover from this reality and prepared for the SNBT test, but I failed that too.
For me, it’s okay to rest for a while to prepare myself for a bigger leap. That leap can only be made by understanding myself and honing my potential. I was initially disappointed with myself. For several days after the SNBT announcement, I would shed tears without realizing it. At night, I feared the next day, as my days had felt so heavy since my failure. Moreover, there was external pressure that made me feel even more devastated.
I felt like I didn’t deserve to be happy until I succeeded. I isolated myself at home, doing household chores while dwelling on my failure. Until one day, I realized that what I was doing was wrong. Why was I punishing myself after choosing to fight for my dream? Why had I dismissed my efforts and deemed them all in vain? Should I let myself be destroyed by this failure? What’s the point of punishing myself? These questions made me realize that this year had been my greatest achievement. Because, for me, the most valuable achievement is not in reaching a dream but in fighting for it. Achieving a dream is certainly wonderful, but isn’t it equally important to appreciate the effort? Throughout my education, I’ve always strived to be better than I was before. So why should I dwell on sadness?
During high school and as a Titian scholarship student, I gained precious lessons that helped me move forward. The most memorable experience for me was during an Outing event with Titian, where I was taught to write down my fears and throw them into the fire. This symbolized for me that if I wanted to grow, I had to first recognize my fears. By doing so, I knew what I needed to do to conquer those fears and cast them away from my mind. Thanks to these lessons, I am now free from the shackles of fear and ready to continue with my life.
Pipit’s Story: Proud to be a Vocational School Student
I participated in a vlog competition organized by a regional office in the Special Region of Yogyakarta. The competition was open to high school and vocational school students alike. At that time, my preparation was quite rushed because of the packed schedule at my vocational school. Fortunately, I was accompanied by teachers who had expertise in the video editing field, which motivated me even more. Without realizing it, I was the only vocational school student who made it past the preliminary round. This motivated me to work even harder to prove that a vocational school student from a remote area like me could also win in a city competition.
The day of the final competition arrived. Due to the distance from my school, I was the last finalist to present my vlog. However, this allowed me to learn from the first four finalists. The response from the three judges was very satisfying, in my opinion. However, when the winners were announced, I received the ‘Aspiring Winner’ award. First place went to a high school student who had a good grasp of the editing process and knowledge of the tools they used. It turns out that the high school also had more advanced equipment. My feelings were mixed—happiness, pride, and a bit of sadness—because my friends didn’t make it past the preliminary round.
In the end, I was able to accept it wholeheartedly. As my mentor, Ms. Intan from Titian, once said to me, “Fly your dreams as high as possible, and never compare yourself to others, but compare yourself now to who you were before.” Those words really stuck with me. Whatever the outcome, I am proud of my achievements because I feel that I am better than I was before. In every competition, there are winners and losers, and I realize that. I am always grateful, no matter how small my achievements are. I am proud to have won two trophies, where I was awarded first-place ‘Aspiring Winner’ and the ‘Favorite Winner’.
Pirna’s Story: Raising My Flag
Every day, I used to practice and pray to become a Paskibraka (flag-raising squad member). Pain and fatigue became my companions, with many tears shed and tough processes endured. But I believed in myself and went through the selection at the district level in North Lombok, where I was one of the top scorers and became a representative for North Lombok to compete at the provincial level. This led to another opportunity: the selection for the National Level.
I passed all the selections smoothly and achieved the highest score among all participants, making me a representative at the National Level alongside a peer from Mataram City, becoming the first representative from North Lombok. When I traveled to the capital, I was proud of myself for reaching this point, but at the same time, I experienced dizziness and nausea since it was my first flight to Jakarta.
However, fate had other plans. It was not my destiny to become a National Level Paskibraka, but I didn’t feel disheartened. I wanted to make this experience a valuable lesson and a fond memory for the future. I also became the first representative from North Lombok to reach the national stage. In Jakarta, I gained many meaningful experiences, and it deeply touched my heart to feel the strong spirit of ‘Bhinneka Tunggal Ika’ (Unity in Diversity). I was proud to have been among such remarkable people.
I achieved all this because I believed in myself and did my best, largely thanks to the lessons I learned from Titian’s Sunday Gathering about Confidence, which greatly helped me when speaking in public or being interviewed. I also learned how to prioritize my life. At Titian, I was taught how to manage my emotions and many other skills that continue to help me walk toward my dreams. Of course, I felt disappointment, considering all the sacrifices my parents and I made. But it was not meant to be, and I accepted that my fate was to serve as a Provincial Level Paskibraka, which was still a heavy responsibility. I remain grateful for all the valuable lessons I gained.
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Many thanks to: Marko (Generation 5 Titian Foundation Pemenang Lombok), Pirna (Generation 5 Titian Foundation Pemenang Lombok), Rosa (Generation 14 Titian Foundation Bayat), and Pipit (Generation 16 Titian Foundation Bayat).
Further reading: https://www.mensafoundation.org/about-the-mensa-foundation/news/experiential-learning-theories-alice-david-kolb/
