Hard work deserves to be noticed

By Ryan Beck

Published April 18, 2008

Lately my columns have not been, well, good — at least in my opinion — but I hope you’ve laughed a bit anyhow. There’s really no excuse, but if I were looking for one I could find it. I have had a rough academic year: First semester, I broke my neck, and this semester, I got hit by a car and broke my face. I am not a brittle person, but I keep breaking. This really sucks. I feel like everything in my life is acting like it’s feeling the effects of physical trauma. After the accident I was left concussed. Now it seems everything is just backwards and cloudy — and overall concussed. My work of all kinds has suffered. My mind is racked. My body feels fine, but my stomach always turns. Something is just not sitting right.

It could be the family-sized box of macaroni I just ate, or it could be something else.

A part of me likes to always move forward, and I acknowledge that is a part of life. Everyday is new; it’s inevitable. But I just always wish holding on to the feelings of the past weren’t as painful as it is. I used to be so good at working hard. I still am, but something lately has inhibited my work ethic. I don’t know what that is, and not knowing is what makes me ache.

Hard work is important. It can inspire, it can captivate, and it can make you feel like the world isn’t so big and that maybe there is a place for you here. The value of a hardworking person has gone unnoticed. People around campuses across the nation work hard everyday and get no credit — no emotional credit, and piss-poor monetary credit as well. I’m not talking about the deans, the professors (although they deserve more of both), the bookstore attendants or the librarians. I am talking about the unnoticed.

For example, there’s Jimmy in Brady Commons: He comes to work everyday, smiles and picks up after asshole students that can’t walk 15 feet and find the trashcan. I try to notice and thank people for their work. I have never seen someone work as hard as the people at the Subway in Brady Commons. If you have ever been down there, you will understand. Hundreds of hungry students shout phrases like “Chicken bacon on wheat!” and “Six-inch turkey!” at them all day and expect them to remember every request. They are very good at what they do; still, I can feel the stress radiating from the employees. I am afraid somebody will snap; the environment is very high-strung and smells like deli meats — an explosive situation, indeed. This is why I want to formally thank everyone that has ever worked hard, ever.

“How do I know if I’ve worked hard?”

If you have, then you know you did. And thank you.

Looking for and finding motivation, like so many of you are, is key for my survival especially with finals nearing, the ups and downs of the weather mimicking my emotions and, above all, feeling concussed.

I think I’d have a lot harder time loving the earth if it weren’t so beautiful. The other day I saw a fat squirrel, which gave me some inner peace. If people are still gracious enough to feed a squirrel enough to make it chubby, then maybe we aren’t all doomed after all. Now if only we could feed the hungry people with the fat squirrels. Could anyone go for a “foot-long squirrel on Italian herbs and cheese”?

Love, Ryan Beck