The Art of Making Errors

(A story of personal reflection narrating the experience of a boy which turned out to be life-changing for him and his classmates)

Once, there was an eight-year-old boy named Ben, who constantly made mistakes; mistakes in class (Teacher: “Ben, you spelt the word eror wrong again..”); mistakes in the schoolyard (Fellow-student:”Ben, you pushed me so hard.. I nearly fell down.”); mistakes at home (Mother: “Oh, Ben, you’ve spilled your milk all over the floor again! How can I clean up this mess before I go to work?”); mistakes in the street (Policeman: “You can’t cross the road now, young man! The light is still red for pedestrians, even if no car is coming!”)

Ben felt that he didn’t deserve anyone’s love… and he needed this love so much! He was a caring and affectionate child. He loved his family, his friends, his teachers.. but because of his stupid errors everyone was annoyed with him and told him off. “Why?” he kept wondering. “Why can’t I be just like Jimmy who never makes mistakes?”

It’s Thursday, December 19th. “The big day”! Ben wakes up feeling miserable. “It’s the day of the contest for the best Christmas star! The winner will get a trip to Eurodisney with his whole family! If only I could win! Everyone would change their mind about me. But what am I thinking? Jimmy will win, of course, and everyone will love him even more!”

Still feeling bad, he gets on the school bus. He sees his most beautiful classmate, Carol, whispering something to John next to her and laughing! He knows that everybody is laughing at him! To make matters worse, the driver starts yelling at him. “You know it’s forbidden to eat or drink on the bus. What will happen if you drop it?” Ben blushes.. As he walks down to go to his seat, Jimmy stretches his leg and Ben….. trips over and falls in front of Carol! He can see the carton of juice he was holding spilt all over her clothes and hair! Carol is shouting! “Can’t you do anything right? Don’t come near me ever again!’’“But it’s not my fault”, he says, but no-one pays attention to him.

Later, at school, the teacher has Ben write a short text on the whiteboard. The text is full of errors! The children start picking at him and laughing. He turns his head just in time to see Carol blink at Jimmy and giggle!

It’s the final hour. The teacher comes into the classroom with a big smile on her face and announces: “As you already know, our class is going to participate in a European contest for the brightest Christmas star! Each and every one of you must draw a star. Remember! A committee will come to our school tomorrow and decide which star is going to represent our country in the European contest and may win the great prize: The trip to Eurodisney!

Everyone is thrilled, so they all start cheering! Ben is excited too, though he knows he stands no chance of winning. “I bet Jimmy’s star will be elected”, he is thinking. They all get down to work. Ben has an idea! “Why not make a star which will be different from everyone else’s?” When they finish, they take their works to the assembly hall and hang them around. Out of the blue, they hear Jimmy’s voice! “Guys, look at Ben’s star! The silliest star I’ve ever seen! All the lines are wrong!”

Ben is so embarrassed! He blushes and blushes and wishes he could vanish into thin air! He looks at everybody’s stars, so perfectly drawn, nearly identical… then, he looks at his own. “I should never have taken part in this contest! Everyone will keep on laughing at me and they will remind me of yet another error!”

“You can all go home now!”, the teacher says. The committee will visit our school tomorrow and decide on the best star to represent our country in the contest. You all did the best you could! I am proud of you!”

Ben goes home, but he is unable to rest. He doesn’t want to do his homework,watch his favourite cartoon on TV, eat his favourite food or play with his little sister. He spends a long, sleepless night. The next day he pretends that he is sick and refuses to get up to go to school. His mother is worried about him. “What’s the matter, Ben?”, she asks. “It’s clear that there is nothing wrong with your stomach.. Why don’t you want to go to school? It’s the day of the contest, isn’t it?” Ben bursts out crying desperately and his mother gives him a big hug.”Why don’t you calm down and tell me what is going on?”

Ben decides to tell his mother everything. When he finishes, his mum looks into his eyes and says, “ Listen, son! Ever since I first held you in my arms, I have considered myself to be the luckiest mum in the world! I could never have expected to have a better son than you! And I am sure that your star is a great one, because you did it with your heart! Don’t let anyone say the opposite, OK?”

At that moment, the bell rings. Mum opens the door and cannot believe her eyes! “Ben, come down here, now!”, she shouts. Ben runs down the stairs in his pyjamas and sees his teacher with the whole class standing at his doorstep. “Ben, we are here to congratulate you! You won! Your star is going to represent us in the European contest.” Jimmy speaks then:” We also want to say how sorry we are that we have underestimated you. You have taught a lesson to all of us: that mistakes can make us better people and lead us to success if we learn from them!” “We all want to be your friends”, the rest shout. Come on! Get dressed and let’s go out and play!” “I’ll be down in a minute, guys!”, Ben says with a smile. “Let’s not waste this wonderful day! Thank you all for coming here..

And remember: Making errors could be art!”

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