Excuses: We all have them; we̢۪ve all given them. Some of us are more clever, or more creative than others when formulating them, but we all never fail to pop one right out when the need calls for it.
I’ve always stepped up to the plate when it comes to the big issues, but when handling the minute dealings of life – being late, returning a call or just plain forgetting to do something – I’ll confess, I’m a seasoned excuser.
For instance, one of my favorite excuses for being late to class is that I live out of town, I’m a bad driver and it REALLY scares me to drive in the fog. Although I am a horrible driver – currently cruising in a ’99 brown Camry with a missing hubcap and a cracked bumper (for your safety speed past me if you see me on the road) – I have, in fact, always lived fairly close to campus; actually, I’m about a 7-minute leisurely walk to school, so you’d think I’d always be on time, right?
Well, the truth is, and yes, here goes my excuse for making an excuse: the “fogâ€Â line or any sort of “I had a flat-tire,â€Â or “dog attacked me on the streetâ€Â variation of an excuse just sounds so much better than me telling a professor, whom I usually fully respect, that I went to a random shindig in the Tower last night, got completely plastered and still felt extremely disoriented when I woke up.
I know that making excuses, especially when a bit of lying is involved, is not religiously, ethically or, to a certain degree, socially acceptable, but how can I not use my innocent looking face to my advantage, maybe keep my grade points and perhaps even score some future excusable tardiness? If like me, you̢۪re not a morning person, you know how ridiculously harsh an 8 a.m. class can be.
Yet a simple act by a great man has actually changed my excuse-making perspective. U.S. Airways pilot Chesley Sullenberger, who along with his crew, safely splash-landed a plane with 150 passengers in the Hudson River, gave the Madden Library a call telling them that a book he checked out through an interlibrary loan, had gone down with the plane.
I̢۪m not quite sure what̢۪s more incredible, the fact that he kept so many people safe or how he remembered to quickly call, out of all places, the library on the other side of the country. My more than $100 in late fees can attest to the fact that I have trouble returning books on time even when walking right by the library on a daily basis.
As for my excuse-making self, I’d be willing to bet big bucks that the line “so your book, yeah, it’s missing because I just saved 150 peopleâ€Â would work wonders with the library staff. But as my new and improved, what-would-Sullenberger-do self, I’m beginning to see the need for a change.
No more will I excuse my tardiness by blaming my clumsiness and saying that I had to dash back home because I fell in the mud, although it has happened before, or say my puppy ( imaginary, of course) escaped and could not be found.
I promise to make an honest effort to officially retire from the art of excuse making, and, most importantly, Library Dean McDonald, I̢۪ll try to return your books on time. If not, I̢۪ll at least do like Sullenberger, and give you a call.
Daniela Lopez • Feb 6, 2009 at 4:18 pm
whatever:
Although that may be a reasonable conclusion, I would like to remind you that this is the Opinion section of the newspaper. Consequently, in no way I am trying to have readers “like” me as a person, but rather interact with my writing as well as the writing of others. It would be completely futile for a writer of opinion, to make it a goal to have readers ‘like” them. For me at least, its much more important to have that interaction, the one we’re having right now, where you might be “infuriated” with what I’m saying but are actually making that known and reaching out. I actually wish more people would do that.
As I told Jared, I wanted to have some fun with this piece and write something that might be a tad more personal than the previous two columns I wrote. I’m in no way saying I’m going to be ‘the perfect person’ now but just trying to explain how I was, in all honesty, taken back by Sullenberger’s actions and that in turn, resulted in a moment of self-reflection.
Some may like this, some may not, yet that’s the wonderful gamble we take in writing.
Daniela Lopez • Feb 6, 2009 at 11:18 pm
whatever:
Although that may be a reasonable conclusion, I would like to remind you that this is the Opinion section of the newspaper. Consequently, in no way I am trying to have readers “like” me as a person, but rather interact with my writing as well as the writing of others. It would be completely futile for a writer of opinion, to make it a goal to have readers ‘like” them. For me at least, its much more important to have that interaction, the one we’re having right now, where you might be “infuriated” with what I’m saying but are actually making that known and reaching out. I actually wish more people would do that.
As I told Jared, I wanted to have some fun with this piece and write something that might be a tad more personal than the previous two columns I wrote. I’m in no way saying I’m going to be ‘the perfect person’ now but just trying to explain how I was, in all honesty, taken back by Sullenberger’s actions and that in turn, resulted in a moment of self-reflection.
Some may like this, some may not, yet that’s the wonderful gamble we take in writing.
Brandon Santiago • Feb 6, 2009 at 2:21 pm
I encourage Jared and whatever to check out several stories in our News section about budget cuts including two that ran today entitled The Bucket dumps hours and CA’s IOU proposal not OK with students. I also would suggest reading Heather Billing’s column that ran today, “‘Screw up’ not a surprise,” Sarah Peterson’s column “Perks of dumpster diving,” and Daniela’s other column entitled “In Obama, we hope.” We have also ran several wire stories pertaining to the recent recession and have a few “Campus Speak” and “Web Speak” sections dedicated specifically to the budget crisis.
Brandon Santiago • Feb 6, 2009 at 9:21 pm
I encourage Jared and whatever to check out several stories in our News section about budget cuts including two that ran today entitled The Bucket dumps hours and CA’s IOU proposal not OK with students. I also would suggest reading Heather Billing’s column that ran today, “‘Screw up’ not a surprise,” Sarah Peterson’s column “Perks of dumpster diving,” and Daniela’s other column entitled “In Obama, we hope.” We have also ran several wire stories pertaining to the recent recession and have a few “Campus Speak” and “Web Speak” sections dedicated specifically to the budget crisis.
whatever • Feb 6, 2009 at 1:57 pm
Even I feel mean for what I’m about to say so I apologize in advance.
But let me get this straight. You constantly and admittedly makes bogus excuses, and admit to doing so only to look better in the eyes of the person you are making excuses to.
Therefore, is it reasonable to assume that you would write a story saying you are going to improve on this only to look good to readers?!
I encounter people like this all the time, who just want to appear a certain way but have no intention of actually going through with what they say! It’s infuriating!
whatever • Feb 6, 2009 at 8:57 pm
Even I feel mean for what I’m about to say so I apologize in advance.
But let me get this straight. You constantly and admittedly makes bogus excuses, and admit to doing so only to look better in the eyes of the person you are making excuses to.
Therefore, is it reasonable to assume that you would write a story saying you are going to improve on this only to look good to readers?!
I encounter people like this all the time, who just want to appear a certain way but have no intention of actually going through with what they say! It’s infuriating!
Daniela Lopez • Feb 5, 2009 at 6:37 pm
Jared:
The purpose of the column was to share how I felt about Sullenberger’s actions and provide snippets of that reaction. Although I agree for the need to cover the “real good news,” I do believe that sometimes people just want to read something that is smart, but also fun. Something that makes you laugh and perhaps even get a “hmm,” out of you. Although it’s unfortunate this particular piece didn’t meet your expectations, I encourage you to take a look at my past two columns and perhaps those may suit your taste a bit better.
As for budget cuts, although not yet covered in the Opinion section, several stories can be found in the News section of The Collegian.
Daniela Lopez • Feb 6, 2009 at 1:37 am
Jared:
The purpose of the column was to share how I felt about Sullenberger’s actions and provide snippets of that reaction. Although I agree for the need to cover the “real good news,” I do believe that sometimes people just want to read something that is smart, but also fun. Something that makes you laugh and perhaps even get a “hmm,” out of you. Although it’s unfortunate this particular piece didn’t meet your expectations, I encourage you to take a look at my past two columns and perhaps those may suit your taste a bit better.
As for budget cuts, although not yet covered in the Opinion section, several stories can be found in the News section of The Collegian.
Jared Harper • Feb 5, 2009 at 5:33 pm
Ok your story does what? why waste precious time….do some real good news people….like what the budget cuts will do to our university, what the university is doing to students etc. get Muckraking…why is certain stories on here all about the “oh my god, im gonna be a better person , oh my god i learned something today , oh my god!!!”
Jared Harper • Feb 6, 2009 at 12:33 am
Ok your story does what? why waste precious time….do some real good news people….like what the budget cuts will do to our university, what the university is doing to students etc. get Muckraking…why is certain stories on here all about the “oh my god, im gonna be a better person , oh my god i learned something today , oh my god!!!”
Christa Williams • Feb 4, 2009 at 1:21 pm
You’re right. I just corrected the typo.
Christa Williams • Feb 4, 2009 at 8:21 pm
You’re right. I just corrected the typo.
edits • Feb 4, 2009 at 12:11 pm
I think the first line is missing “have” as in “We all have them”.
edits • Feb 4, 2009 at 7:11 pm
I think the first line is missing “have” as in “We all have them”.