Make Mondays Great Again by Abigail Wells

Monday.

It is not just a day of the week.

It’s a feeling. (And that may be the most millennial thing I’ve ever said, but it’s true.)

It’s hard to properly describe Monday.

It is the apprehension that steals any chance of fun on Sunday.

The guaranteed conversation filler on the elevator ride with that coworker, with whom you would otherwise have nothing to talk about.

It’s the resounding groan as alarms go off.

And to that, I must say: Dang… how did Monday get such a bad wrap? I’ve always had a particular dislike for Thursdays. To me, it’s the day that’s in between me and my weekend. I think I hate Thursdays the way most people hate Mondays.

But I digress. I reject the notion that everyone hates Mondays. I think we respond that way because we have been conditioned to believe that Monday is where all our dreams go to die. It is mob mentality at it’s finest. I’m guilty of it too! Hands up if you have ever instinctively responded to someone asking you how your day is with, “Well… it is Monday”. Even if something sucks on a Wednesday we say, “Dang, and it's not even Monday!”

Well, I’m on a mission to change that narrative. #MakeMondaysGreatAgain started out as a snarky comment on our political climate and turned into a serious life lesson for me.

Quick Backstory: I’m an actress/director working as a barista at Starbucks.

I am the epitome of a cliché. (and not in a quirky, adorable Emma Stone at the beginning of La La Land kinda way. Just in an ironic, impoverished kinda way.)

I never thought I would dislike my job, but I do. That’s the sad truth.  I cannot believe how worked up people get when they discover our Pumpkin Spice syrup does not come in a sugar-free option. I go zero to one hundred real quick when the same woman comes in every week with the same story (insisting that we made her Carmel Macchiato wrong) and wants a refund. I’ve been called “Useless” and “Worthless” more times than I can count by coworkers and customers. And more than once I’ve considered throwing people’s drinks at them when they bring a practically empty beverage back to the bar, claiming it was made wrong, and wanting a new one.

It was three weeks in and I was done. I was on my way to quit when God prompted me, “If this were a film set, would you walk out?”

To which I naturally responded, “Of course not!”

“Really, even if you were just an intern?”

“No, because that matters. That’s the dream! This is just Starbucks…”

Then I heard what my heart was really screaming.

I never want to get to a place where I think something is beneath me. Starbucks is a good job. It is arguably one of the greatest companies to work for. So I needed an attitude adjustment like a white girl needs La Croix.

Let's clarify something real quick: I did not invent this hashtag. I definitely did not make it cool (I’ve never made anything cool a day in my life). I’m a bandwagon-er by trade.

But nevertheless, here I am. I started posting pictures and videos every week using that hashtag. I eventually started getting tagged in other people’s posts. I had friends text me saying how they were making deliberate choices to start the week right. More than once, it’ll be 1 pm on a Monday and people will message me asking if I forgot what day it is (which is common when you work an hourly job without a real weekend). I didn’t think I was doing anything special. I was just a girl who wanted to keep her Insta feed real. Why did people care, or God forbid, look forward to my nonsense?

I think it’s because, as I was discovering, this isn’t even about Mondays.

You will not arrive at a day or age where you are suddenly the best version of yourself. (Though I have a strong argument that 30-35 will be my prime.)

Your choices now affect who you will become. You are not going to wake up one day, suddenly full of moral fiber, ready to take on all that one 24hr period has to throw at you. However, you can take yourself out of your default setting, and choose to think and speak life-giving words into your circumstances. Take inventory of who you are- all the best and worst parts and make the necessary adjustments. Know yourself!

Now is the time to build character. And how do you build character?

A thousand little choices. One of those being, to change the way you feel about Mondays.

I don’t think it’s right to waste 1/7th of your life in hate.

Mondays are fresh starts.

Mondays are full of opportunity.

Mondays hold potential.

Mondays are the metaphoric trampoline to launch you into your week!

One day, you may get the privilege of having your dream job- getting paid to do what you love. And a fair warning: Character does not come with the job description. It’s not a given. If you only work hard and act with integrity when you like what you’re doing, then you won't go very far.

Because there will be a day, even in your very real dream future, where it won't come naturally. Your coworkers will annoy you. Your boss will be insufferable. The dream job won’t feel like the dream. Life will be unfair. And Mondays will still exist.

Nine months later, I’m still at a job that frustrates me with people who know how to push my buttons, but God has grown my patience and humbled me greatly. I’m thankful for how such a small deliberate decision has helped influence those around me. I am someone who loves to hate on things, especially social media, but I’m choking on my own cynicism here.

So, I challenge you to be better on purpose and if you don’t know where to start might I suggest #MakeMondaysGreatAgain.

author: abigail wells

#MakeMondaysGreatAgain