Don't be ridiculous
A brief comment was made on the car-ride home from a visit to a coffee shop. I said "I wish I wasn't such a realist"
Obviously not the first time i have had this thought, many a times I have pondered the ways people react to the decision making process, or maybe even the thinking process in general. Case and point:
Something depressing has just occured in your life and part of the responsibility is in your hands. Depending on what you want to hear you either come to person a, b, or c. To make this a little less hypothetical I will give these letters names that actually fit the given situation.
A. Neil Wong- he will give you the sweet version. One that points out the ups of the situation and speaks optimistically about the positive outcomes of the event and then shows the necesity of your actions. Needed at times, this is what I call the "sugar coated" view
B. Andrea Parson- with a smile on her face and a reassuring hug, Andrea will agree with your shortcomings but only to a point of satisfaction and acceptance. The ups are weighed, the downs and valued but not emphasized. You are neither the victim nor the instigator and the subject is thus quickly changed and ended with a friendly laugh. This is the "move on and laugh" view.
C. Kara Girod- the logistics of the entire situation are veiwed. Each wrong turn is renavigated to discover what could have occured for a better outcome, and then the things you did right are discussed. The reality of the situation is put on the table, sugar and salt all in one. This is the "straight-forward like it or not" view.
Obviously, my view seems to be the most depressing. Leaning more towards pesimism than anything, I can't think any other way than logically. Let's face it, life is rough. Now this veiw does have it's advantages. I am always prepared for the worse and thus often am pleasantly suprised by the ups in life. I can weigh things out logically and don't have to depend on what-if's and I find my "view" to be most accurate.
But aside from decision making, sometimes i wish I could just let go of reality. I'd like to think and say sometime "maybe I will wake up tomarrow, snow will be on the ground, and I will get a call from my dream school asking me to attend". But that's not likely to happen now is it...