Then I had to rush back to the dorm and fulfill some church duties (I was in charge of a large group activity).
Also, I found out that I bombed a midterm in my Literature class. Because I had been getting C's and D's on my Book of Mormon midterms, I thought I would be prepared, but no. College Melissa is not as smart as High School Melissa apparently. High School Melissa graduated in the top 30 in her class of nearly 700, but college Melissa is below average in every class. What happened?!
Anyway, after a nice chat with my Mom, I was feeling a lot better. She's always great - listening to my problems, and letting me just whiney whine whine all the way home. (<--- okay, so I sort of made up that phrase).
She must have talked to my Dad about it, because I got an e-mail (about 10 minutes ago) that just sealed the deal in the happiness department.
He offered me words of comfort in the form of a Star Trek allusion. Go DAD! He related this to me:
You may recall, from Star Trek II (Wrath of Khan), that there was a simulation called the "Kobayashi Maru". It was a no-win scenario (damaged ship, the Neutral Zone, and Romulans) -- no choice you would make would lead to success. That was just a training scenario, but it was there for a reason -- it was a test of character to see how someone responds in adverse conditions. In life, we all face the Kobayashi Maru from time to time, and as I look back, I'm much better for having gone through it. I don't particularly like it, but I do see that it is for my own good. Certainly (among other things) I am better able to empathize with those who go through hardship. There are a great many other positives that can come from such an experience.
Seriously? What did I do to deserve him!? I also like that it starts with, "You may recall." Pffft. Like I don't have the entire movie memorized!
I appreciate that in one simple e-mail, he was able to comfort me, cheer me up, amuse me, amaze me, and (most importantly) allow me to embrace my Star Trek-loving self.
5 comments:
Um, any dad who uses a Star Trek allusion (particularly Wrath of Kahn) must be an awesome dad. I think I will remember that bit of advice in my own life.
Also, I feel your pain. Seriously, even my nerdy nerderson friends who were like #1 in high school (<-- that was not me) had some major strugs freshman year. And those religion classes are DEATH. I definitely learned that a C is perfectly acceptable, especially because I can say "C... you later, class. I don't have to retake you." (so lame, please erase that from your memory)
Khan, my mistake.
Melissa you are so smart and I love you to death! You can pass all your classes with great grades, I KNOW YOU CAN! Why, you may ask? Because Mo knows how smart you are! I love ya girl!
Wow. Your dad rocks. Brilliant use of ST in real life. Here's the thing about college, sweetie: it is just lots harder than high school.
Sorry. =\
(You want me to start torturing HS students so that they'll have more realistic expectations? In all seriousness, at least once per term I wonder if it would be more ... uh, humane... to make them more miserable so they'd be better prepared for university.)
I think our dads would get along. :)
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