Tough Decision
As pleased as I am that I have no critical decisions (that I
am aware of) to make in the near future, it does create a problem for
completing this assignment. There is an issue that I need to give some serious
thought to, however, so this assignment will force me to address it.
When I made the decision to begin this program, a friend
asked about attending graduation. I replied that I would not be attending a
graduation—I live too far away and it wouldn’t make sense since I didn’t know
anyone. But the thought has crept into
the back of my mind that it would be nice to meet my fellow classmates and
share in the joy of completing this journey together. I will use the five-step
decision –making process to decide what I should do.
Define the Decision
Clearly
The decision is do I stick with my practical nature and
receive my diploma (hopefully) in the mail; or do I break the budget and attend
graduation with my classmates?
Consider All the
Possible Choices
In this case, there are really only two choices: attend
graduation or stay home.
Gather All Relevant Information
and Evaluate the Pros and Cons of Each Possible Choice
|
Possible
Choices
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Information
Needed
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Pros
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Cons
|
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Stay home
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None
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Stress free, save money
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Won’t get to share the experience with my classmates
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Attend graduation
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Will any of my classmates attend?
Distance: RT=1612 mi.
Drive time: 25 hrs. RT
Hotel cost est.: $110x2
Gas: $250 (est.)
Date, time, location of graduation?
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Get to meet my classmates
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Take time from work
Expensive!
Stressful
If I attend graduation, I would want my 4 daughters there also. It is
not likely they could attend and I would be disappointed.
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Select the Choice
That Seems to Best Meet the Needs of the Situation
Based on the information I have at this time, the better choice
seems to be stay home. It is quite possible my classmates will not be attending
either. I will still (I hope) graduate and get a diploma, but I won’t have the
expense and stress.
Implement a Plan of
Action and Then Monitor the Results, Making Necessary Adjustments
My plan at this point is to stay home and be envious of
my classmates. If it turned out that my daughters could (and would) attend with
me, I might reconsider my decision—especially if I knew some of my classmates
would be there too!
Jan,
ReplyDeleteFirst let me introduce myself. I am just joining your class as I was in this course about 9 mos ago, but had to take a hiatus to study for a national registry.
First I like that you are open to changing you mind if your daughters come. I would also advise that you come with more research before making a decision. I am sure there are others that will be coming in from a distance and you might be able to find a place that you could split. I know that when I have traveled in the past I often used a vacation home and would split it with others. It tends to be cheaper and you have an actual home vs. a hotel room. Also if you really put your mind to it you could start to ask if anyone likes to cook or grill and if they have a specialty and then all the sudden the cooking duties get spread around. I suppose the moral to the story is that there may be more options than you think, you just may have to do a a bit more research and digging to find them!
Derek
Hi Derek,
DeleteI tried responding last night, but it wouldn't let me for some reason. I appreciaate your suggestion of a house--I never would have thought of that. If my daughters can come with me, that would be great because we could all be together. Thank you for the idea!
Hi Jan,
ReplyDeleteThis really is a tough decision. I live here and I'm not sure if I'm attending graduation! If you change your mind and decide to come, let me know and I can tell you some other things you can do here. Make a little vacation of it! Omaha is a small, big city with a lot to do and see. I love our Old Market area and we have one of the most beautiful zoos in the world. Hotels are not outrageous and activities are inexpensive. I love my town and I would love to have you visit! We could meet for that margarita. :)
Hi Cindy,
DeleteI will certainly let you know if I decide to go! Why are you not planning to go? I can't think of any reason to go if none of my classmates will be there--except for that margarita:)
Jan,
ReplyDeleteI completely understand weighing the pros and cons as to whether you should travel such a distance. I understand that graduating from college is important for everyone. For some people, receiving that diploma is important as it is a sense of self accomplishment. I would also stress to you to look around at hotel costs. I'm pretty sure you can find hotels to be a bit cheaper then 110 a night.
Jan,
ReplyDeleteI am really glad that you posted this particular "tough decision" because I had not given going to graduation any thought whatsoever until you brought the subject up. Thank you for inspiring me to consider if I will attend graduation. :)
You did a nice job outlining the options of going and staying in a hotel or not going.
I also really liked Derek's suggestion of adding to your options the possibility of sharing a vacation home. That sounds like another great idea. My family has used sites like these to find vacation homes in California but with a little google search I found this site for Omaha.
http://www.vrbo.com/search/keywords:Omaha,%20Nebraska/Dates:firm
There seems to be several options with decent prices - especially if you are able to share the costs with someone else :)
Good luck on your decision! :)
Becca
Thank you so much, Becca! I will certainly look into that possibility! I appreciate your detective work! Let me know if you decide to attend:)
DeleteGetting my associate's degree was kind of a big deal for me - it was me "finally doing something" with all the miscellaneous college credits I had accrued during my previous failed attempts at a degree. I lived maybe 30 minutes max from the school where I got my associate's. But I didn't go to graduation. It was my personal preference I guess, but I felt like it would be more meaningful for me to just quietly be proud of myself at home than to go hang out with a bunch of people I don't know, with no one other than my husband to applaud me personally.
ReplyDeleteI live much further away from Bellevue than I did from the school where I got my associate's, so I DEFINITELY will not be going to graduation, but even if I lived closer I don't think my opinion would have changed much.