class. I didn’t know. I’d never had to explain that to him. I bet that he had paused a few extra seconds to look around the room to look for me before he marked me absent. I wondered why I was in the coffee shop in the first place. I was sitting all alone wondering why I had ever walked out of my dorm room and instead of going to my test; I skipped; and went to have coffee. This was the final test. My teacher made it clear to all of us that if we didn’t pass this test, we wouldn’t pass the course. And another thing, there were no 'redo’s' if you were absent. I didn’t know why I had skipped it. I had studied the entire night before, even skipped going to a party. (Which, later that night, I heard was a blast.) That was still okay for me because I was going to get Honors in Physics. I was going to be best in the class. I didn’t get honors. It took just one hour for me to go from passing with acclamations to failing. But sometime, while I was sipping my black coffee, I realized that I hadn’t failed a test. I was on a path to fail myself. That morning I realized that if I was only doing something for someone else, there was no point in doing it. I needed to be able to say that I passed with honors because I wanted to, and I couldn’t. I walked out of the caf with a new air to myself. I was refreshed and I had more self-confidence. If failing one class was the payment to get my life back in order, I’d give a tip. I accepted the consequences and although I was mildly disappointed that it ruined my final report, I was happy because I was no longer traveling a tight rope being guided by others. I knew what I wanted to do and I took on challenges not for others, but for myself....
