Failure Leads to Success Anonymous

“I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” –Michael Jordan

It didn’t register in my mind that we were going to be living in Egypt until we were halfway across the Atlantic. I knew that the experience in Cairo would be a memorable one. What I didn’t know was that I was going to come back home three years later, after enduring many tests and enjoying some successes.

My first test came when I realized my Arabic communication skills were more text-book than conversational. I knew this would be a major hindrance in school and that I had to overcome this shortcoming if I was to be well-integrated. I decided to speak with common Egyptian folk whenever the chance arose, even if that meant I might commit numerous verbal faux pas. By making mistake after mistake, I grew to learn that the slightest change in the way one pronounces a letter can sway the meaning of a word. This ushered the way for me to learn more about Egyptian culture and to learn about what is considered taboo. After reading tens of modern Egyptian books in colloquial Arabic,...