Rejection Therapy by Kayode D. '27

Today I flew back to campus!

I returned earlier that most students because I am an Orientation Captain. I have to come early for training and to help prepare everything for the prefrosh⁠01 underclassmen have asked me before when they stop being prefrosh and become regular frosh. In my eyes, you are done being prefrosh <em>by definition</em> on the first day of classes, but it doesn't become real until after the first midterms. I have also heard the term 'protofrosh' used to describe students who are applying to MIT. 'proto-' meaning 'earliest form of'.  impending arrival.

I was in the airport for my 8AM flight from Louisville to Boston, when I ran into Andrew P. ’28 Hailie B. ’27! They were flying early as well for orientation and REX⁠02 Residential Exploration Period, when students go to tons of fun events at dorms to explore different communities and see where they would best fit in on campus. , and our seats were next to one another!

On the plane

I listened to You Did It! a delightful new album by a band called Bugs Frogs & Snakes.  Would recommend!

When the plane landed, we made jokes about clapping so the pilot knows they did a good job. Otherwise how would they know, you know? I suggested asking for a photo with the pilot. Hailey mentioned a recent trend on tiktok⁠03 which i am not on called “rejection therapy,” where people ask for things that they know they won’t get knowing they’ll face rejections, so that they become more used to it. Here’s a video:

The thing is, though, that in this video, he isn’t rejected, and they do let him climb inside the firetruck! So I said I was gonna do it, I was gonna ask the pilot for a picture. Andrew said he would, too, to make it less awkward.

When we got down there, we asked the pilot, and he said yes!

Andrew P. 28′, Shawn the Pilot, and Kayode D. ’27

We began talking with him about how long he had to train to be a pilot⁠04 ''Zero to Hero? around 2 years, the 6 months more of airline training'' and how the Titans are gonna do this season⁠05 I have no idea what he told us . Then he asked if we wanted trading cards.

DID HE JUST SAY TRADING CARDS??? Like, PILOT TRADING CARDS?? Like, I can talk to MORE PILOTS and collect PILOT TRADING CARDS????

My nerd brain neurons were activated. He grabbed his briefcase and pulled out a stack of DELTA AIRLINE TRADING CARDS.

These are HOLO Cards he gave us. Now I have to collect them all 👀

And airplane fun facts?? Young Kayode would DIE if he experienced this. I would know, because old Kayode is also dying.

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He told us that they have these on all Delta Airline planes⁠06 and there are other kinds on other planes, too! .

This rejection therapy experience worked, but not in the way that I expected at all!! Now I want to take pictures with EVERY pilot I meet! You literally never know when someone might hand you a trading card [👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀].

So now it’s  🫵 YOUR TURN 🫵 

As you come to campus for the first time or for the nth time, ask your pilot for a picture! Ask for a trading card! Put a picture in the comments! I wanna see what the other ones look like.

Also, don’t fear rejection, I guess? That’s probably the moral of this story, but I can’t get over how STINKING COOL MY AIRPLANE TRADING CARD IS. Maybe I’ll try doing things that are awkward more now. I watched a few more of those rejection therapy videos and they are so awkward, but look like they teach so much. I hate “failure”, but I know how good it is for you.

Also, reject technology, embrace tradition. Why limit yourselves to the confines of “technological advancement” [escalators] when you can unleash your potential and forge your own path? [take the stairs]

OK, I need to go to the store now because I have no food.

…

Update: I bought only fruit and now I just have fruit. If you killed my character I would drop trading cards and fruit, like a common enemy.