Complaining: The American Disease

I'd been trying to think of something that I could Blog about that actually meant something. Not how my day was or how my finals are going. But real stuff. Lo and behold, a senior prank brought my answer.


First, background. Last night, some people hid in the library when it closed and over night pulled one side of the libraries books off the shelves and put them in mixed up piles on the floor in the aisles. I got a phone call about 9:30 this morning from one of my bosses who was asking all library workers to come in during thier free time today to put the books back up. I got there after my marketing exam and surveyed the damage. Most of the row couldn't even be walked through because of the piles. I thought it was good prank. I started putting books up with about 6 of my co-workers. Obvioiusly word of the prank got around and people came in to see what happened. A lot of people laughed and said it was funny. A few of my co-workers yelled that them and said it wasn't funny and they should be putting the books back up. I told my co-workers that being angry about it and yelling at people wasn't going to put the books on the shelf any faster, and now they're mad at me.

So I say: Why Complain?? If something bad happens, what good does it do to complain about it. I'm not self-righteous here, I have my moments too. But, because of things I've seen in my life (i.e. my Grandpa having a crippling disease for 30 years and not complaining and what I wrote about in the aforposted essay) I have taught myself as much as possible to roll with the punches and get over the bad stuff because complaining isn't going to change it.

Most of us made the reshelving fun by joking around and enjoying time to talk with our friends. Others complained that they had studying to do. They didn't have to be there, they were volunteering their time (well sort of, we got paid which was another thing to be happy about) but yet deemed it necessary to be known that they didn't want to be there. What does that help? Why make life miserable?

Like I said, I'm not perfect when it comes to this. I've been very down about having a boring summer ahead of me and I've tried a lot to make it positive and it's been hard. But little things like a prank, I don't think it's worth the worry. Senior Pranks happen. This one happened in the library. They work at the library and get paid to put books on the shelf. What's the problem? The way I saw it, they could have done a lot worse. They stacked the books, they didn't just pull them off the shelf. They didn't vandelize(sp?) anything. They left the books in somewhat of an order. It really wasn't that bad.

So anyways, my challenge to you and to myself is the next time something doesn't go your way, or just plain sucks. Look for the bright side. Find the good. Don't make it worse by complaining about it, that only makes you and others around you feel worse. And never forget the words of the great 80's philosopher Bobby McFerrin, "Don't worry, Be Happy!"