Being Prepared

Dear Cotillion Students,

I hope that you are well and enjoying this beautiful day! 

Over the past few months, I have written many letters of recommendation for students and student assistants that were applying to private schools, to college, for scholarships, and internships. Each of them had done different things to prepare for the goals that they hoped to achieve. Their preparation prompted me to write to you about being prepared. 

A gentleman or lady knows how important it is to be prepared for the many different challenges and opportunities that life might bring. There are many areas in which to prepare: educational, financial, physical, social, spiritual, as well as being prepared for an emergency. Today, I would like to talk to you about ‘being personally prepared.’ There are many things that take us by surprise, but when we are prepared we can take advantage of the opportunities they present. Being prepared helps us to hone our skill set, so that our lives are richer, fuller and more successful.

Being prepared means that we are learning self discipline. 

When we develop good habits we are preparing ourselves for the wonderful things that life has in store for us. 

We don’t procrastinate. 

We don’t make excuses.  

Examples: 

• If you keep your room clean it is easier to find the things that you need and takes less time to put things away. 
• If you manage your time, and study in advance, you will learn the material more thoroughly and won’t find yourself cramming the night before an exam.
• If you pack your backpack before you go to bed – you will have everything you need the next day, and won’t start your day off scrambling to pull it together, as you head out the door.
• If you charge your phone while you are sleeping, you have a fully charged phone in the morning and won’t risk having a dead phone when you need it.
• If a healthy diet, exercise and rest are some of your habits, you prepare your body to live a healthier life and deal with stress better.

Being prepared means that we are more strategic in our thinking.

As we plan, we set ourselves up to succeed.

Examples:

• If you think about, schedule and prepare for what you would like to do on the weekend, chances increase that your weekend will be more fun and that you won’t find yourself looking for something to do.
• If you think about shopping in advance for the things you will need, you will likely find a better product and save money over shopping last minute. 
• If you have a flashlight and extra batteries, you will still have light if the power goes out. 
• If you think about careers you might like to learn about in the future, when you are talking to someone that has that career, you already have in mind that you want to know more. It makes it easy to ask them about it or to even shadow them.
• If you make a decision, right now, that you will not do something that you know you are not supposed to. When you are presented with a situation that tempts you to make a poor choice, you don’t have to choose in the heat of the moment. You already made the choice.

Being prepared helps us to be more flexible, if something doesn’t work, we have options!

As we prepare, we are aware that problems can arise. We consider different situations and outcomes, so that when things happen – we already have an idea or a solution in mind. 

Example:

• If you have an extra snack or water bottle in your sports bag, you or someone else will likely be grateful that it was there in the not too distant future. 

Being prepared helps us to develop our resilience, increases our confidence and our sense of self.

When we are prepared we are resilient. When something bad happens, we get back up and keep going. We may have to make corrections, change our plans or make an adjustment – but we know we can still succeed.

We have faith in ourselves, we have taken the time to prepare by really learning and appreciating who we are.  

I encourage you to spend some time this week thinking about the things that you can do and the decisions that you can make that will help you prepare for today, tomorrow, and the future, and then implement them. Prepare! 

My goal is to help you to prepare for a wonderful future!

Love,

Mrs. Achiu