By Ada Zhang
Lariat blogger
Mondays. I hated them as a child when I had to wake up and eat flavorless Cheerios for breakfast, I hate them in college, and I’ll probably hate them until the day I die.
Here is a list of all the things about Monday that drive me crazy and why:
- Waking Up
I am in a very serious relationship with my bed. It’s always there when I need it, and our love is unconditional. But oh! Here comes Monday, the jealous ex-boyfriend who has to ruin everything.
- Looking in the Mirror
A million pimples have decided to colonize on my face. So cute!
- Power Walking to Class
My most sincere hope is for my children to live in a world where running with a backpack on is socially acceptable. They would get places so much faster.
- The Texas Heat
I’m sure the guy sitting next to me finds my back sweat really attractive. Do I smell? Pretty sure I smell. Condensation above my upper-lip is starting to form—a tell-tale sign of the great day ahead of me.
- Quizzes
The weekend didn’t prepare me for this. Getting out of bed was a huge mistake.
- Totally Blanking on an Important Meeting
WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY.
- Going to Work
I’m either narcoleptic or just severely fatigued. Or maybe I’m just over this day. And this week.
- Seeing Happy People
Their laughter only lowers my spirits.
If you notice, all the things on my list are actually daily occurrences. Every day I get out of bed, every day I go to class and work, and every day the Texas heat is brutal. It’s the fact that it’s Monday, the first day of the week, the day that reminds me of all my responsibilities and obligations—that is what’s so ultimately disappointing.
Do Mondays ever get easier? Probably not. I think Mondays will always feel cruel and often unforgiving. Only by showing grace to one another will we be able to conquer all the Mondays that are still to come.
Don’t hate happy people! Happy people are your comrades, not your enemies! (Maybe you never hated happy people. Maybe I’m far too pessimistic than the average human being and this is just me giving myself advice.)
Oftentimes, we’re so consumed by our own misery that we fail to see the ways in which we perpetuate negativity by pulling others down into our sad torpor.
Mondays won’t give us grace, so we have to provide it for ourselves and for each other. This means we can be a little kinder, a little more thoughtful, and a lot less selfish. We can be this way every day, but Mondays especially, because mishap and mayhem seem to always fall in Monday’s lap.
And remember: Mondays, in all their grief and strife, do eventually end. Following even the worst of Mondays is a glorious Friday.
