My First Tough Choice

So far in New Zealand I have not had to make tough choices. Most of mine have been pretty obvious at this point: of course I'm going to Wellington because all my friends are going, of course I'll eat another grilled cheese sandwhich because I have no other food options. But today I discovered that I do have a choice to make: whether or not to attend a writer's conference next week instead of classes.

For the New Zealand Post Writers and Readers Week takes place between March 11-16 in Wellington. I just came back from this fair city yesterday, but that doesn't mean that I saw all of the city I want to see. In fact, I saw very little.

What I will probably end up doing is skipping Thursday and Friday classes for the sake of this conference, although I really want to go early. Ian McEwan, the author of Atonement, will kick off the conference on Monday with a reading. Additionally there are lots of interesting discussion tables and lectures throughout the week, such as another reading by McEwan and lots of writers from around the world reading their work and discussing the craft of writing. Oooh! And there's a discussion on the lingering effects of World War Two on literature, with an English writer (McEwan again!), a German author, and a New Zealand writer.

So here's the question: what will help my education more? Will doing something that may impact my writing skills and change me permanently be a better idea than staying at school, which is something I actually came here to do? I may just leave and get there on Thursday, staying through Sunday. Responsiblities are important, but really... I do tend to get obsessed with school as a rule. I am here to learn, but not always from classes. It's what we're supposed to to in college anyway, eh?

Alright I'm going to book something for Thursday and stay through Sunday. The anticipation is palpable...