Think about the excuses that you and others give (for being late, out of money, unprepared, etc.). Share one of your favorite excuses that either you gave or you received. Describe the ways that we g

Student Example 1:

"I dislike excuses and avoid giving any when I can, because I feel like I'm betraying someone else by letting them down. Receiving an excuse automatically activates my "Inner Sherlock Holmes", and I start over-thinking about everything regarding the current situation. For me, it's either following through, or failing silently (I understand that it's a bit prideful, but that's just my creed). I willingly accept the consequences head on, and attempt to learn from them. Making up an excuse just makes me feel uncomfortable, so I try my very best to do all that I can to prevent one from leaving my lips. When I do fail, I feel the need to redeem myself, and make things right somehow.

Giving excuses, for me, indicates self defense: protecting oneself from another person's fury or disappointment. It acts like a cushion, a rationalization that attempts to appease some sort of inner consciousness. I feel, that when someone makes up an excuse, that someone is placing blame on something or someone else. In my eyes (this goes for myself also), this is merely covering up for one's mistake. Doing so, prevents proper personal growth and maintenance as it blinds the (excuse) user of their faults (or at least distracts them from it).

I know how hard it feels to receive criticism. I occasionally flinch. Though it's really hard for me to do so, I try my very best to confront my demons in the eye. After expressing my agony, and self-reflecting, I feel free. Instead of making excuses, one should swallow their pride, admit their shortcomings, face the consequences, and learn from their mistakes. It's like that piece of coal, accepting all the pressure, and in the end becomes diamond. That's how I see it anyway."

Student Example 2:

"People make excuses all the time, and sometimes even without knowing. I think the reason why people use excuses is to shift the blame to something or someone else. The reason for this is because nobody wants to be blamed for the problems they’ve caused themselves. Recently, I have been invited to several church programs by strangers on campus. After going once, I was not very interested in going again. So whenever one of these people try to talk to me, I would make the excuse that I was late to class, or going to get a bite to eat first. I make these excuses in order to get rid of the person quickly, without hurting their feelings. I could tell them that I went before and disliked it, but it might offend them.

I believe giving excuses could mean different things. A person could be trying to defend themselves because it really was not their fault for causing the problem or they could be protecting the person they are talking to. For example, if a student were to come to class late on a test day due to a car accident in the freeway, the student will try to encourage the teacher to giving him a retake by telling the professor excuses. An excuse in this case would seem better than just telling the teacher that you were late for no reason and wished to retake the test. Excuses can alternatively be used to protect the person it is being said toward. An example is when somebody you dislike is asking you to eat with him, and you do not want to. Without hurting his or her feelings, you could give a simple excuse. Telling the truth about how you hate the individual would be honest, but might devastate the person as well.

A person could simply admit their reasons for causing problems, but it may be hard to do for most people. If a person was late to a meeting due to traffic, they could apologize to everyone in the meeting and tell them how he or she could fix the problem. The individual could possibly wake up earlier for work in case of traffic. Admitting that you made a mistake is probably the hardest part, but figuring out how to fix the mistake is quite simple. If a person were to be honest, then I am sure that the crowd would be more lenient."