The young think that failure is the Siberian end of the line, banishment from all the living, and tend to do w... — James Baldwin

The young think that failure is the Siberian end of the line, banishment from all the living, and tend to do what I then did - which was to hide.

Author: James Baldwin

Insight: There's something particularly cruel about being young and failing, because at that age failure feels like a verdict on who you are rather than just something that happened. Baldwin captures this perfectly—that instinct to disappear, to pull back from the world, to assume everyone's watching and judging. It's not just about the specific thing you messed up. It's about the terror that this one stumble has permanently marked you as someone who doesn't belong. What's interesting is how this impulse to hide actually makes failure worse. When you retreat, you miss the everyday proof that everyone around you is also screwing up constantly. You don't see that your friend bombed an interview and moved on, or that someone admired failed spectacularly and is still standing. The hiding deepens the shame because it keeps you isolated with it, turns a temporary setback into something that feels existential and permanent. The real shift comes when you realize that banishment isn't automatic. Other people are mostly focused on their own stumbles, not cataloging yours. Failure stings and it teaches, but it doesn't end you. The young Baldwin hid because he believed the myth. Older Baldwin could see it for what it was—painful, yes, but survivable, and ultimately just part of being alive.