rejection is normal

welcome to introspection ft. harsehaj! ⭐️ i’m harsehaj, a 19 y/o always up to something in social good x tech.

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onto today’s topic: rejection is normal 🛑 

being rejected isn’t a sin.

you’re not incompetent, unlikeable, or talentless if you receive rejection. it’s normal, and statistically speaking you’re probably going to experience a lot more rejection than acceptance or success in your life. that only makes the wins sweeter, even if they get you down in the moment.

i recently made it to the very last round (of 4) of dorm room fund’s student partner application. i was ecstatic and grew increasingly invested in the fund and the team as i progressed through each round.

opening up my email in the middle of class to, “unfortunately, we cannot offer you a spot,” was disheartening to say the least. 😞 it was especially disappointing knowing i was so close.

i was rejected, and it sucked. plain and simple.

the best way to deal with rejection is to take it exactly as that: a rejection, not a death sentence. if i kept overthinking everything i said in my interviews, and mulling over what if’s, it would grow into resentment. resentment towards myself, the fund, and venture capital as a whole.

that didn’t happen. 😁 i’ve grown to love the process of discovering new companies and researching different markets in depth even more as a result of drf’s interviewing process, because each rejection is another point of growth and opportunity to learn.

that’s more important to me than anything, and it makes rejection so much more bearable. if you take on life with the goal to learn, rejection isn’t the end of the world.

they’ll see an even better version of myself next time around. :)

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