“…and somehow, that turned out to be one of the best experiences ever, because it opened up my son’s perspective on failure.”
That incident happened to one of the parents at Empathy School during the Farmer’s Market last week, Ms.Ay, on November 7, 2025.
As a staff member at Empathy School, I still remember when I received the message; it was pouring heavily, and as a nature-based school, we had no choice but to face the wind and rain head-on. Of course, that came with a few risks, one of them being a leaky roof.
Every first Friday of the month, we hold our regular Farmer’s Market; an event initiated by Empathy School to teach our students about entrepreneurship. It’s not only about making a profit; it’s about giving them the space to gain real, hands-on experience in understanding what it means to build something from the ground up.
From developing ideas, planning their strategies, creating their products, to engaging directly with customers, they learn the entire journey. They discover how to present their work, how to communicate, and how to convince their customers with confidence.
For us, experiences like these are incredibly valuable. In life, we are constantly challenged to navigate situations like this, not only in business, but in many aspects of our daily lives.
Beyond giving the children a space to sell their creations, one of our commitments is also to support local entrepreneurs from the nearby village. During the same event, these local business owners join the Farmer’s Market and bring their own products to share, from fresh fruits and vegetables, juices, and healthy snacks, to sustainably made goods that prioritize environmental responsibility.
The thing is, every mission comes with its own challenges, and within those challenges, there is always the possibility of failure.
Failure is a kind of certainty, something that appears in every journey. It’s unavoidable. Yet what we often forget is that failure is just as important as success. We need it just as much as we long for applause and the spotlight.
On that rainy afternoon, I received a message from one of our dear parents, Ms. Ay, letting me know that the artwork she created with her son had been damaged by the rain. A few factors contributed to it, not just the heavy downpour, but also a leaking roof, and the tables we provided were not designed to protect the work from water.
Hearing that, my heart sank. I could imagine how painful it must be to see a piece of art, created with so much care, with every step shaped by love, suddenly ruined and impossible to save.
The first thing I did was contact our maintenance team to immediately inspect the roof once the event ended and the rain had stopped.
I found myself thinking about Ms. Ay and her son, Aslan, who is 11 years old. Even though I empathized deeply, it was impossible for me to truly understand how they felt. After all, I am not them. I didn’t experience it firsthand. I could only imagine what their emotions might have been.
The next day, I asked Ms. Ay for permission to write this article. I felt moved to do so after seeing the artwork they had created, it stirred something in me. Without using any words, each stroke carried its own emotion, quietly conveying a sense of tenderness that truly touched my heart.
“As I mentioned, Aslan didn’t really understand that the rain had ruined our paintings. I quietly took them away and told him to have fun in the rain, so he simply thought our selling time was over. He helped me choose the wood materials and assisted me while I worked on the wood painting. So technically, it was my artwork, but it was a project we shared together. But end of the day he had a great day by selling our projects and having fun on the rain was became nice memory for us. And even paintings are ruined we give away them as gift to the one we met and love in the school, that was also memorable… ” That was how Ms. Ay described the experience.
Then, at the end of our conversation, she added, “So… my artwork got ruined because the roof leaked. And somehow, that turned out to be one of the best experiences ever, because it opened up my son’s perspective on failure.”
I wrote this article with the hope that more people will see the artwork created by Aslan and Ms. Ay. More than that, I hope more people will begin to see failure from a different angle, a more beautiful one.
Abi Ardianda
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