Disclaimer: I really enjoy my fellowship site, and the work is stimulating. These are not quibbles about the site or my work; they are just internal battles that I face no matter my job.

Wow, all I can say is I understand my older friends and family’s disdain for Mondays and the drain you feel from a 9-to-5 job. I have held a part-time office internship, but that schedule was more relaxed because it was during the academic year. I have also been a full-time server, but my schedule was variable, and restaurant culture was hectic. Each day was different, and I did have the instant gratification of money in hand at the end of each shift.

I was on the phone with my mom earlier this week, discussing the dread of spending all day inside and having only six hours before I must go to bed to sustain waking up at 6 a.m. She thinks it is funny because I am just starting my career. I realized I need to stay in school longer or continue serving to keep my flexible schedule.

I also discussed these thoughts with a friend who is interning this summer. He said that he enjoys the 9 to 5 work experience but could not explain why other than it’s nice to leave the stress at work. I get that, but my mission in life stresses me out while I am not at work, and I must dedicate 8 hours a day to work that is not fulfilling that mission. I have never abided by the rules society likes to place on me. I was born a female but played men’s ice hockey and rugby growing up. This made me present myself in a more masculine way, as I dressed in severely oversized basketball shorts and t-shirts. Once I finally got my mom to stop dressing me, I did not wear a dress until my grandma forced me to for my middle school dance. While I do play into my femininity more now, I present myself in a very neutral gendered way because that is what I have always been comfortable in. These battles with how society wants me to look and feel as a woman led me to finally shave my beautiful curly locks. I genuinely love being a woman but am so so so tired of the men around me trying to make me conform to into a timid, soft-spoken girl. I also wanted to break free of the last outward presenting symbol that I have control over, showcasing that I am, in fact, a woman. I love the mind games it has played on the people around me. I love to push the social rules because we have free will.

That was a very long-winded way of me explaining that working a 9 to 5 is not something we must do. It should not be what is socially acceptable. Next year, I plan to pursue a thesis, and I have been struggling to develop definitive topics. I am passionate about the intersection of community and economic development while being very anti-9-to-5. In 2023, I was a presenter at the Ohio Association of Gerontology and Education Conference. During the conference, I was faced with research pointing towards an average lifespan of over 100 years for people currently under 30. At the top end, that is AT LEAST another 70 years, and with the looks of social security, all those years will be filled with working a, say it with me, 9 to 5! Does that not sound amazing? No, well, I do not think so either. So, what can we do about it? The same conference suggested solutions like reducing the work week to 4 days. I would not even enjoy an office job for 4 days a week. The crisis of social security and deteriorating mental health due to the American work culture is feeding into a worsening social tension. People love to say that my generation does not want to work but is that really true? I do not think so. We just do not want to conform to the “norm”. This emotional and socioeconomic web could be a fun thesis project…

Please suggest any readings or research that you feel is relevant 🙂