A man and his girlfriend were sharing coffee when she pointed out that he was being very quiet and did not seem to be himself. He confessed that he was very depressed after having found out that he had not been accepted to a graduate writing program. She pointed out that he'd already decided not to attend that program so it should hardly matter that he hadn't been accepted.
He said he was aware of that, but that knowing he could not attend even if he wanted to was more distressing than he'd imagined. He said that it had forced him to question his abilities and really done damage to his confidence. He said he'd have been better off having never applied.
She argued that you have to take chances in order to make progress.
He agreed, but said that having been on both sides of the issue he was now prepared to say that the sting of trying and failing was worse than the anxiety of being afraid to try at all.
At least if you don't try, he said, no one can tell you you're not good enough.
Friday, March 18, 2005
Man Depressed By Rejection From School He Did Not Plan To Attend
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3 comments:
I agree with the girl. If you don't take a chance, you'll never get anywhere. It's certainly understandable to be sad, but rejection is a huge part of being a writer. If he wanted safety, he should have gone to law school.
The man now becomes faced with choices: Succumb to the sting of rejection, or get angry enough to prove the bastards wrong.
I feel the guy has a point. The ability to see ourselves as we really are is not to be scorned - and we can't all be the greatest thing since sliced bread. To become comfortable in the knowledge of his real abilities, this is the challenge facing the man, not some doomed attempt to prove the world wrong.
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