Do not be afraid of challenges

I have learnt a lot of things after coming to ASU and not the least of all, is handling failures. I want to recall one particular incident during my first semester. It was the semester break and i was desperate for campus jobs. The job i was currently at, was closed during the holidays, and i had to pay the month's rent off my pocket. The number of postings were not that great. I was applying to each and every one of 'em but no replies whatsoever. Finally i got a call for a programmer position in a space research laboratory which paid $14/hour. It was way out of my league and i was surprised to get a call in the first place. The interviewer wanted to talk to me next day. I read up whatever i can about unix, linux, C, C++, etc and went to their office. A guy looking very much like a scientist came up and asked me to sit in a conference room. Soon, two more guys joined him there with a copy of my resume. They sounded very pleasant at the beginning but then started bombarding me with questions i had never heard of and did not have a clue about. It was the most embarassing one hour i have faced in my life. At first i tried to ward off their questions with clever answers, but soon i started getting tired of my idiotic answers. At the end of my hour-long grilling i was so devastated that i made the cardinal sin of asking the interviewer how did i perform. This was my final dialogue:

Me: Can i ask you guys how did i do?

Interviewer A: We'll call you back if you are selected.

Me: It looked like the skills i have are not sufficient for this job.

Interviewer B: We are not looking for someone who knows everything. We are looking for someone who are willing to learn what is needed.

This interview changed my perception about failures. For a long, long time i used to think back at this interview and feel embarassed. But it made me realise that i had lasted one hour in an interview in which i dint knew a dime. And i started feeling proud of it. That day, i would not have dared go near a mirror and face myself. But not today. I have learnt that crimes are something to be embarassed about, not failures. And that is an important lesson.