Edit Desk: A case of the Mondays

Kendal Jacobus

For most students, attending Lehigh is a charmed life.

The campus is pretty, the parties are consistent and the academics are reputable. But the experience comes with some petty flaws — little annoyances that have their way of turning a normal day into a marathon. That was the case Monday.

My alarm sounds at 8:30 a.m. After leaving my off-campus house at 9:50 a.m. for my 10:10 a.m. class, I made a pit stop at Fairchild-Martindale Library to print out the notes I needed for class. I guess everyone else had procrastinated printing over the weekend too because there was only one computer available. I quickened my pace and carefully typed my username and password.

Access denied. Some selfish, lazy John Doe had forgotten to log off before me. I waited exactly seven minutes before another computer was available. I still made it to lecture on time with my notes, but John Doe had managed to put me on edge before 10 a.m.

Finally, after a near-death experience involving a frat boy in a black Jeep speeding down Packer Avenue and another tiring class, I walked down to Taylor Gym, where I was pleased to see a handful of treadmills open. I went to hop on to one I knew had a working incline.

But as you probably guessed, it didn’t turn on.

Neither did the next three treadmills I tried to use. In the end, I settled for an outdated stationary bike. During that half hour, every person I didn’t want to see walked in. I found myself wishing I had taken a nap instead.

By the time I had finished and got home, I knew I had to get to the library. So I packed my book bag and blanket and drove to FML. Yes, I have a soft, dark gray blanket that I bring to the library. For some reason Lehigh thinks I enjoy doing organic chemistry problems, reading and computer science and engineering homework while freezing in negative degree buildings.

I was flying through my work until a group of students walked in with smelly take-out and apparently a lot to talk about. They were there for an hour and a half and only two of them had work out. It felt like being late to work and getting boxed in between the only two cars on the highway not driving above the speed limit. Trapped in the worst scenario, at the worst time.

It was around 8:40 p.m. when my mobile parking app notified me that my meter was going to expire at 8:55 p.m. Since parking is free after 9 p.m., I took the risk of not extending it.

Dumb mistake. Tucked neatly in my windshield was a $10 fine, or two and a half Saxby’s coffees. I was livid. I already pay for an overpriced parking pass. Honestly, Lehigh should be thankful I pay for meters on top of that. Yet, I get at least one ticket a week from instances just like this. The Bethlehem parking police and the drivers of the white Lehigh parking Jeep clearly do not know the meaning of mercy or grace.

By the time I got home that night, I was mentally drained. Lehigh had just successfully pushed all my buttons in one day. But I also realized that while today I was a victim of petty acts, most other days I was the one doing them.

As a college student, I feel like it’s easy to get caught up in myself and what I want. Sometimes, I forget how the little things can affect my grades, health and relationships in a big way.  Sometimes, I forget that my classes, tests or projects are no more important than anyone else’s.

This Monday had actually turned into a good reminder of the meaning of compassion, gratitude and teamwork. Or lack thereof.

The annoying pet peeves we face on campus are small and irrelevant. Thankfully, no one at Lehigh is really losing it over someone not logging out of a computer. But a lot of baffling change is happening in our world right now. In a way, it is stemming from similar pettiness and entitlement that we see at Lehigh, just in different ways, on a much bigger scale, and with much bigger repercussions.

So if you want to contribute to a greater cause, stop being the person who thinks they are too busy to log out of the computer when you leave a library. Stop being the person who thinks they can’t spare an extra 15 seconds of their day for one last person to cross Packer Avenue. Stop being the person who wants to teach a lesson by fining a student $10 for forgetting to extend a parking meter at 8:56 p.m.

Because these petty acts add up. Over time, these small actions create much bigger reactions which can sometimes be ugly. Sometimes, we pay a big price for things we didn’t realize were annoying or pissing someone off until it’s way too late. Don’t let it get to that point.

—

Kendal Jacobus, ’18, is an associate sports editor for The Brown and White. She can be reached at [email protected].