Tuesday, October 26, 2021

The Art of No

I’m too old to go through the extra hassle for the tassel. 

I was supposed to start my last class towards my certificate today, Person and Profession. I received the syllabus on Sunday morning, and everything in my head told me "No." 

No? Aren't I the bulldog that pushes through everything to make it happen?

When I first decided to enroll in the Leadership program, there was one class above all others I wanted to take: Creativity and Innovative Problem Solving. I wanted that to be my first class but locked out, I ended up in Leadership Dynamics. Then came the two required courses. I aced them all. 

Facing the syllabus on Sunday morning, I was peeved. This was not my class. This was not at all what I wanted to study. I read through and could not find the gumption to care. Even when some of the required videos were comedies? Nope. 

I gave it a day and thought maybe I was just in a mood and I should tackle the syllabus and readings one more time. The first assignment was an 800-page book in a pdf format. Then I took the syllabus quiz, which had a couple of gotcha questions. I hate gotcha questions. 

The answer was still no.

So the question I had to ask is why I wanted to finish up so quickly. It wasn't a race. No one was going to applaud me if I finished in December instead of April. And this last elective was an opportunity to study what I wanted to study. 

I logged on to my student account and found all the sections of the Creativity class for the winter semester. Of the five classes available, there were only seven open spots. I quickly claimed one of them. Then I switched to this semester's account and dropped the course. Instantly, I felt a weight lift from my shoulders AND my stomach. 

So the journey towards completing this degree is taking a rest. The only loss is the dangling charm on my graduation tassel that says 2021. No big deal, I was able to remove it. The journey continues on March 14, and the party commences in April. 

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