One of my technology students came to see me lately asking to drop a course late. This wasn't an unusual request, and because it had been soon after the deadline, I had been ready to accept it. However, before I did, we spoke. Our conversation went directly to the center of a problem I guess lots of bright college students face: the dread of failing to be ideal, ideally a simple perfection, compared to the joy of studying. The student said that she'd done badly on the first midterm examination. When I asked her why she'd badly, she replied,"I underestimated just how much effort it would take; I believed I might find an A without analyzing." Although she thought she could put in an attempt to increase her grade prior to the end of the period, she wished to drop the course so she would retake it and receive an A. The kicker was that the course wasn't required -- it had been Russian literature. I asked ,"Instead of retaking this course, would not you'r...