by Tyler Hersko
It’s hard to maintain a positive outlook on life when you’re getting paid minimum wage to make sure a crazy old man doesn’t start masturbating next to young children and bored soccer moms near a gym’s pool.
I hated that pool. I fished a lot of shit and vomit out of that thing. Hey, whatever though, it was a job. But being on pedophilia watch? Sorry, that was above my fucking pay grade.
I should clarify; I am not referring to my job at The Nevada Sagebrush. Here, I deal with late articles, stay up until 4:00 a.m. writing things and struggle to suppress the urge to blast Pig Destroyer and Anaal Nathrakh in the office during deadline nights. I’d take this job over the former one any day.
But sometimes we don’t have that choice, and that sucks. Sometimes it sucks so much, that such jobs, classes and other mandatory activities can be actively poisonous for your mental health. I know that feeling, and it’s absolutely awful.
I ended the last spring semester on an incredible high. Having just finished my first year of college, I felt like the king of the world. A week into vacation, I found myself manning the pool deck at the same gym I worked at the previous summer.
I’m a firm believer that customer service jobs — which is basically what this gig boiled down to — are among the worst occupations, within reason, out there. It takes a zen-like patience that I apparently do not possess to hack it in said field without losing your mind.
Within a week of my second season on the job, I felt that gnawing feeling of emptiness return. It was as if all of the social, academic and professional progress I had made in the last year evaporated, just like that.
Looking back, for all of my so-called improvements, it’s hard not to cringe at what essentially amounted to an incredible display of immaturity. I felt like I was better than this — which was most certainly not the case for me or anyone else in my position — like I deserved to do more than cater to a bunch of overprivileged parents alongside a group of similarly detached idiot coworkers. Now, that may have been the reality of the job, but what was I gaining by festering in a rage of my own faux-intellectual superiority?
As we approach the end of the semester, I’ve been working on finalizing my career plans for the summer. You can bet that I’m doing everything in my power to avoid a third season at the aforementioned gym, but wherever I end up, I have one singular goal: Go into whatever I do with a positive attitude.
It’s an almost insultingly simple concept, but one that is apparently lost on a lot of people. Including me, for a time. I’ve made an effort to maintain a more positive outlook with regards to my primary obligations: Work and school. I wouldn’t go so far as to say that I’m attempting to be an optimist (eww), more, I’ve strived to make the best of whatever situation I’m in.
For example, take the philosophy course I’ve been in this semester. It’s essentially a bi-weekly class discussion on modern issues. It sounds rather dry, but I decided to view it as an opportunity to actually discuss the news of the day and learn about other contemporary viewpoints. And surprisingly, it’s actually been quite the worthwhile experience.
Then there’s the girl that always sits in the corner. She’s the flaming femnazi liberal type that casts actual social activists in an unfairly negative light. Clearly too important and wise to discuss ethical issues with the rest of us plebeians, she just plays on her phone, sullenly waiting for class to end.
Who is getting more bang for their buck?
Humbling yourself to whatever situation you’re in isn’t always easy, but there’s yet to be one instance this semester in which I’ve regretted doing so. The idea of: “Hey, it might not be the most fun thing, but it has to get done” has led to more successful Core Humanities essays than a hundred trips to the Knowledge Center ever could. It makes 11 hour newspaper deadlines zoom by. And it’s also one of the few things that make living with rejects from the cast of “Animal House” bearable.
I’m not suggesting you practice blind optimism. Just remember the importance of a healthy mentality. Perspective, patience and conflict-management can go a long way to alleviating the worst of an unsavory situation.
And if you can’t do that — say, because a lunatic is masturbating in your workplace— then ask yourself if whatever you’re doing is really worth it. So as you pack your travel bags and set sights for summer, just remember that as long as you have the luxury of choice, you should work to make your mind as happy and healthy as reasonably possible.
Tyler Hersko studies journalism. He can be reached at thersko@sagebrush.unr.edu.