Plan B

I came across a quote today that impacted me - Mostly because it was exactly what I needed.

"Life is all about how you handle Plan B; Plan B is the test of true character."

Wow. How many times do my plans fall apart and I am forced to move to Plan B? How often do things not go my way and I have to figure out something different? And most importantly, how do I react to that?

Character isn't created when things are easy. When life is peaches and cream and things are going the way that I want, it's easy to be strong and happy and faithful and positive and good. There is no character building taking place in moments of ease and calm.

It's those moments when things fall apart. When you watch plans dissipate before your eyes. When you get told "No" even though you really really wanted a "yes". That is where character building happens.

This past year has been a series of "Plan B"s. I am a type A personality, so I make plans and lists and want to control everything and make it go exactly the way I think it should. However, things continually didn't work out the way that I thought they needed to. I was forced to Plan B.

And often, I didn't react well. I would get mad. Frustrated. Upset. Ready to give up.

But once I got over my personal temper tantrum, I would pick myself up, dust off my boots, and start working on Plan B. And that is how I got tough. That's what made me strong and independent. That's where my character was built. I didn't appreciate it each time it happened, but I can look back now and say those "Plan B"s are what made me a better person. I've gained appreciation, patience (a little anyway, I still don't have much), understanding, and most importantly, HOPE.

That things will work out. That everything will be okay. And that God does have a plan for my life that is going to be better than anything my Type A personality can come up with.

I wanted the University of Texas soooo bad. My Plan A was all or nothing. And it fell through. I wouldn't be so frustrated if it wasn't for the reasons that it was. It's not because I don't have an excellent academic record. It isn't because I didn't write killer essays. It's not because my test scores weren't great. It's not because I didn't take the right classes or enough of them.

Nope, it's because I have too many credits. Yep. Seriously. I double majored and got 2 degrees, so I have too many credits. So UT won't even look at anything else. Nothing else matters.

That's a serious setback. There goes Plan A.

I'm not going to lie... I am incredibly disappointed. And frustrated. And angry. (I mean, really, who denies admission to a 4.0 Honors Student based on too many credits?! I even made the point to the admissions counselor I was talking to "So if I had been less motivated and only gotten 1 degree or been dumber and failed a few classes, I wouldn't have this problem?" - The answer was yes.) But I'm digressing...

The point here is that it's time for Plan B. Time to stop wallowing and figure out where to go from here. Figure out what I want to do and what's important to me. And mostly, it's time for character building and hope. I am going to be ok. This is going to be ok. It's not going to work out the way I want it to, but it will work out. I just need to focus on that.

If rough times make me stronger, then by the time this is over I'll be tough as nails.