Last year, my roommate brought her bike to campus. She bought a lock and, knowing she would most likely misplace the key, gave copies to her boyfriend, her boyfriend’s roommate and I.

This way, when she did lose her key, one of us would be able to save the day with our spare. Many of you are probably familiar with this kind of mishap, and maybe you’ve given spare keys to friends or family for your cars, homes, liquor cabinet, etc.

Anyway, the point of that? Be prepared.

The other day I found a box of waffles in my freezer from the (literal) truck load of food my parents sent a week or so ago. They sent so much food my mom and I had to start piling things in the pantry so I could see my kitchen floor again.

I didn’t even know I had waffles. I was instantly excited – as anyone should be over waffles – and threw one in the toaster to have a nice mid-afternoon snack. I soon realized, however, that I had no syrup under which to eat my waffle. So I improvised, added sugar and cinnamon to create waffletoast.

And the point here? Be flexible.

I point out these riveting and deeply personal stories to share this: while there is no substitute for preparation, it is far more important to be flexible.

Ever since I was just a little … ok, littler girl helping my dad change the oil in his car, I have had no choice but to engrave the idea of having a backup plan into my impressionable little mind.

“What if (fill in the blank with a typical solution to a typical problem) doesn’t work out?” my dad would ask. So, jumping through the hoops, I would come up with what I thought to be a foolproof plan of attack.

“Ah, but what if your hands are pinned down and your cell phone can’t pick up the voice-activated commands because your voice has been altered by the smoke and/or thick fog-like residue?” he’d ask. “Can you start a fire and make smoke signals with your feet?”

I still wonder what the chances really are of a power line falling on the building I’m in while I just happen to be taking a drink of water and holding onto a metal umbrella. But Dad taught me to think ahead.

It happened again in driver’s education class. Remember when you were supposed to learn to “drive defensively?” Expect the other person to come flying around that sharp corner with his lights off and head right toward your windshield, they said. I don’t know how much that was teaching preparedness so much as it was encouraging the use of ESP, but the idea still stands.

Honestly though, it’s nice to be prepared, but how many times do your backup plans even go wrong? How effectively can you plan for the completely unexpected? How often is there simply nothing you can do about a situation other than deal with what you’ve got?

It’s just something to think about. If you’re one of those people who brings an entire box of pencils to take a Scantron test, ask yourself what would happen if you get attacked by an angry pack of beavers on the way to class. Can you MacGyver your way out of the pile up and still be on time to class?

Yes, of course there is much to be said for being prepared, but the important thing is whether you can think on your feet. Prepared or not, can you mold yourself to your surroundings and devise a way to make the situation work out anyway?

Try it. You may even get some satisfying culinary eccentricities out of the deal.