Blessed are the Flexible

My life motto is, "Blessed are the flexible, for they shall bend and not break." If I do indeed take that to heart, I should be a circus contortionist by now and be able to fit into one of those little plexiglass boxes.

I found out on Thursday that: I have another week to work on my history paper, I have to write a 10-page paper for my Geography final (I an not taking the final at the same time as my classmates), and I will be presenting my research paper in Geography on Tuesday which will require a 10-minute Power Point presentation. Good thing I love to write and am not afraid of words!

As a nontrad, one of the best qualities to possess is FLEXIBILITY. Life does not always go as planned, "surprises" pop up now and again, and you have to be able to roll with the punches. There are several instances in my nontrad life where I have had to be as flexible as Gumby - missing a week of school when my dad died, not being to take Intermediate Spanish II during summer school, spending every weekend this past fall on the road to volleyball tournaments for my daughter and losing valuable study time, changing my minor, etc.

"The best laid plans of mice and men often go astray." I think that saying ought to be "The best laid plans of mice and men ALWAYS go astray." When your plans don't work out, you can respond in one of two ways: get really angry and stomp around, shaking your fist at the sky, OR take a deep breath, regroup and ask, "What do I do now?" and move forward with Plan B. I am a big advocate of Plan B - and Plan Z if necessary. Life is a learning experience and learning to be flexible is a great lesson to learn.

As you face the end of the semester, do you need a Plan B? Or do you need to be a tad more flexible with school, work, or home circumstances? Learning to be flexible will take you a long way. You won't get as frustrated and you may just find out that Plan B was the better plan anyway. Stay focused, but stay flexible and stay tuned . . .

P.S. I also wanted to share this short film called "The Butterfly Circus" that was shared with me by a very wise woman - Betsy Boyd at Pellissippi State Community College, Blount County campus. It is about making the most of what you have and who you are. It's well worth the watch. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtxANzN2Woo