To fail may mean not being able to hold this gloss in place, to hide what is real. Too much failure creates dwarfed lives or death. The effects of failure accumulate over time. Then there was the fear of the expectations of others being disappointed but, as well, an outrage at the fact of the failure. I set my resolve to attack aside and accepted my rejection.
Rejection alters one's awareness of time.
There is an acute awareness of a loss of time, yet a need to move forward. You feel as though you're being punished for life and as though you never want to learn again, because, after all, bad marks are barring you from moving forward. In this sense, a failing mark stops time for a student. It is as if rejection signifies that time has run out for that person. There is a feeling of remorse for not having taken advantage of a good opportunity and a wish to relive the past-to undo time and erase the unhappy past that prevents the future.