What to Do When You've Blown It (nonfiction)

What to Do When You've Blown It (nonfiction)

What to Do When You've Blown It (nonfiction)
Reading Level

	edHelper's suggested reading level:	grades 9 to 12
	Flesch-Kincaid grade level:	3.08

Vocabulary

challenging words:

apology, phony, payroll, better, error, negative, detention, value, responsibility, maturity, gossip, mistake, gain, positive, science, solve

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What to Do When You've Blown It (nonfiction)
By Brenda B. Covert

¹     You know when you've blown it. You made a mistake and are paying the price. It could be that you failed to study, and that led you to failing a test. You might have revealed your best friend's secret, and now that friend won't speak to you. Perhaps you skipped class, and now you're stuck in detention. Maybe your family trusted you to stay away from drugs, but you didn't and got caught. Could it be that you broke a test tube in the science lab? You can't believe you made such a stupid mistake!

²     Now what? What can you do to cope? Can you make things right again? You have several options. Here is a list of choices you could make:

     1. Avoid. You could pretend nothing happened.
     2. Blame. You could blame someone else for your mistake.
     3. Make excuses. It's not really your fault. You couldn't help it.
     4. Admit. Confess and take responsibility for what you did.
     5. Apologize. Say that you're sorry, and mean it!
     6. Change. Stop doing that thing that gets you into trouble.

³     If you think about it, you'll realize that the first three options won't solve your problem. They are the negative choices. People who avoid, blame, and make excuses are losers. When they start talking, people roll their eyes. If you have been trying to cope with mistakes by ignoring them or denying that you were at fault, you haven't left yourself a way to make things right.

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