Better Late than Never

Yawn. Sleep. Work. Scratch. Groan. What?

This week I am realizing two things. First, this might be a pretty exhausting semester. I'm going on my second straight week of not going to bed before 2 am and frequently staying up past three (though that still gives me eight hours of sleep on weekends). And I'm still exercising, trying to read several books, and become generally more organized, all while dealing with my heavy work- and course-load.

Second, I need to complain less. And "complaining" here also includes having a holier-than-thou attitude about my schedule. I'm not really sure how much I do either of those things verbally (complain or sport an attitude), but three things I encountered this week made me notice that, at the very least, I do them mentally.

My first encounter was in Bear's Den. I ordered pesto pasta and was waiting for it to be mixed and boxed for me while the guy who had just been in front of me in line was sprinkling on some parmesan cheese. In fact, he took so long putting it on I thought I might be able to beat him to the checkout. Had he taken any longer, I would have. Instead I took solace in the fact that there was no one in line on our side of the cashier, which meant I could still check out without waiting in a significant line. But when the cashier finished ringing up the person she was working with and turned to us, this guy in front of me, who I see now has intentionally been maintaining distance from the register, told her he would wait for her to handle the end of the line on the other side.

I'm not sure if I explained that well enough for you to follow it, but this fellow pasta eater turned down a coincidental cut in line that I sometimes try to use on purpose. As simple as it was, it made a big impression on me and made me realize that I should consider other people a lot more than I do now.

My second encounter was with fellow Danforth Scholars at a meeting about our Spring Break trip to Biloxi, MS. Everyone there was busy, and I didn't even think about complaining myself. In fact, it is probably being in this group of people that motivated me to do as much as possible in the first place.

My last encounter this week was a phone call earlier tonight from the most resilient girl I have ever met. Despite facing a multitude of issues that would each be particularly difficult on their own, she remains upbeat, incredibly enthusiastic (most of the time), and says next to nothing about any of her problems. People like her just make me think "whoah!" and they are the best part of being a student at WashU. I hope I can learn from every last one of them.