Days are just time constructs to make us aware of it. Not that some days are special in itself, rather it's the events that collide with them that make them somewhat special.

Mondays are busy because they mark the beginning of a working or school week, when everyone is thrown into the locomotive drama. A new week means fresh energy to take on the day. I have seen many different types of Mondays, such as the start of a new semester for students or the start of a new job for some, but last Monday was unlike any other Monday I have ever experienced.

On this day, I was at work and by 10am, I was the angriest woman on the streets of Ibadan. The NGO I was running my internship stylishly laid me off without something concrete. I was told to go home and wait for a “confirmation mail” to resume after they gave me a 2- weeks sick leave. I sensed it coming yet and I navigated the traumatic Monday morning saga to be at work… I was fuming, not angry at them but myself.

It was just an overwhelming feeling that permeated my entire being; it wasn't like I could figure out what was causing me to get angry. I did my best to work hard during my internship; I wasn't a bad or lazy intern. That was a lot of sick leave—two weeks. Even though I knew I was sick, I didn't ask for the leave. I received it from them. "Why did they treat me like this?" As I strolled around the estate, these ideas kept popping into my head. I was really enraged by the time I arrived at the intersection, and my rage was followed by hunger. I skipped breakfast in order to arrive at work early. Currently, they have sent me home without considering my transport costs.

My hunger won't be attended to. Why? Because the food I was going to eat would result in stress eating. But regardless, I was going to get food. I had a budget in mind, but I literally drained my bank account and purchased the most expensive food I have ever purchased when I saw the treats in the first restaurant I entered. I spent so much money on so little. To put it succinctly, the guilt did not continue to consume me since I was thinking about enjoying my money.

As I arrived at my neighborhood, I had the impression that I was a student being dismissed for failing to pay her fees. The events of that day confirmed to me why I shouldn't accept a physical job that requires full-time work. I didn't believe I had the mental fortitude to handle physical layoffs, either indirect or direct. In my mind, I couldn't process the situation myself, so talking to someone about it was the last thing I could do. But I crossed two things off my life list that day. For the first time, I treated myself to a three-course meal to celebrate my first job layoff.