Fanatical Military Recruiting

18Objections Are Not Rejection, but They Feel That Way

I believe that rejection is a blessing because it’s the universe’s way of telling you that there’s something better out there.

—Michelle Phan, makeup artist

For a high-school junior, the prom was a big deal—an obsession for teenaged boys and girls and one of the big steps out of adolescence and into adulthood. I was excited and yet worried, because I had a big problem. I needed a date. And, of course, I wanted to go with the girl of my dreams.

The anxiety I felt was the same anxiety that millions of high-school students have endured—a rite of passage. For weeks, I put off asking her. I watched her in the lunchroom huddled with her friends. I passed her in the hall between classes, secretly hoping that she was thinking the same thing I was.

There was never a good time. I couldn’t get her alone, didn’t have the right words. Other people were around. I had a hundred-and-one reasons why now wasn’t the right time to ask.

So, for most of the winter semester, I lived in the fantasy that we were going to the prom together rather than taking the most important step and asking her. With the clock ticking, though, I needed to do something.

Finally, I gathered up my courage and asked. It was a terrifying experience. I felt self-conscious and insecure as I struggled to get the words out. My heart was pounding and palms sweating. As soon as I opened my mouth, I regretted it.

The words I’d practiced over and over in my head came out ...