Wednesday, November 24, 2010

The Man Plan and The Realistic Plan


I've been thinking lately about how girls have two plans in general, not necessarily Plan A or Plan B, but two plans for the future, one including marriage and one that doesn't. When discussing the doesn't plan w/ my friend the the other night a guy friend pointed out how the plan's lack of a man seemed rather pessimistic. I of course had to correct him and say that it is not in fact pessimistic, rather it is realistic. Women who don't come up with a realistic after the undergrad plan are on the market for a world of hurt if the Man Plan doesn't pan out in time. Then there's the opposite, the position I most find myself in, where the Realistic Plan becomes so real and certain (the Man Plan being more of a gamble) that the idea of giving it up for the Man Plan should that option arise, seems a little heart wrenching and stomach turning. When a girl doesn't date the Man Plan seems rather far away and the Realistic Plan starts to look so nice. However, if we had to assign an A and a B I suppose Plan A should be the Man Plan, which is really just figuring out what the heck you're going to do about your future once you've figured out with whom you're spending it.

I don't know if men have these same categories of future plans. I would assume that their Realistic and Woman Plans are somewhat similar, one has a wife and the other doesn't. I for one see no problem with that, although it does seem oh so much easier for them than for us. Oh well. Dem's the breaks

In case you were wondering:
Man Plan: get married and figure it out from there, my MFA not being an option but the timing of achieving said MFA is incredibly flexible. Have oodles of babies.

Realistic Plan: Work the next Utah Shakespeare Festival season, move home to make money then apply to grad school for Fall '12 at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts and Boston University, and possibly London Unis. After attaining my MFA move to London for good within 3 years and work my way up to designer for The Globe and/or The National. Also, open a Mormon bridal boutique in London to serve our lovely European sisters.

5 comments:

Ashley said...

I like your realistic plan. I'd have a free place to stay when I come to London to visit and you could introduce me to Richard Armitage. lol Are there enough European sisters to make money off of opening up a bridal shop?

dolce vita said...

It's interesting, your ManPlan is a lot vaguer than your RealisticPlan--but then, so's mine.
Love your realistic plan. Include Indian clothing in it and I'm sold :)

Dusty said...

Rest assured Shelby, the gentlemen who surround you go through the same thing. One plan includes a wife, and the other doesn't. One plan includes providing for multiple other people, and the other... a table for one. One is vague, and the other is not.

Now, for the gentlemen, which one is vague has become the bane of our Stake and Ward leaders' callings. It's safe to say that stomachs twist on both sides.

Shelby said...

Ashley: I talked to lots of sisters in Europe that said they'd travel to London for a dress
Anjali:Done
Dusty: I'm assuredly rested Dust, thanks.

Whitney said...

I had a Man Plan and a Realistic Plan...the realistic plan became more and more of a reality. The trick is being able (moreso willing) to drop the realistic plan in favor of the Man Plan. I implemented the Man Plan at 30...so far so good. And the realistic plan is still mainly in tact. I would have implemented the Man Plan at 23, too...just didn't happen.