Rule #2

Always be ready, in case you change your mind

Be ready? Be ready for what? Change your mind? ... Mind about what?

Anything. Everything!

I made this rule one night Saturday night, the first weekend back from my reading week trip to Cuba. I had a 12 page essay due on the Monday. A "remix" esaay which required me to go through every single reading I had for the course and cut and paste the words of the experts into an essay of my own... A challenge that I wanted to succeed in. I had only begun the night before, which quickly got interrupted and I quit working on it far earlier than I had planned, telling myself "I'll do tons of work on it tomorrow". After all, I had all day and all night... I just wouldn't go out... with all of my roommates and neighbours and friends who were visiting from home. I really didn't believe it when I said it, but I stood my own through all the peer pressure. I got ready and left the apartment to do work on campus. Hunger set in around 9 so I went home to eat and there was a legit party going on in my kitchen, living room and bedroom even. The peer pressure continued, but "No", I told everyone, "I am doing this damn paper".

So I said goodbye to everyone as they left their noisy pre-drink at my apartment and I was left to myself to finally do this damn thing. I got about 30 minutes into working, getting on a pretty good streak. I looked at my clock. It read 12:00 and I said FUCK THIS. I called my bestie up and said straight up, "Stay there. I'm coming".
I had gotten all ready and showered earlier in the day, so all I had to do was throw on some clothes (that showed off my tan nicely I might add), and some boots and I ran out the door, meeting my friends and roommates at the school bar.

I ended up having only a couple drinks, but showing up spontaneously when everyone thought I really wasn't going to was a marvellous feeling. We danced the night away, came home and had an all-night Cuba party in the kitchen. I got an A on the paper and I showed myself that I can do it all - I can have it all.
Even when I was 100% sure in my ways that I wasn't going to go out, I surprised myself and changed my mind. If I hadn't been ready, I wouldn't have had the time nor the energy to get ready at that point, and wouldn't have made it out and made one of my favourite random nights of my last year of undergrad. So the moral of the story is,

Always be ready (for ANYTHING), and you can do it all.