Mondays are THE BEST. Actually, Mondays are generally the worst, but my Mondays this semester are always a highlight of my week. My schedule on Mondays is definitely hectic. The day starts at 9 a.m. with a lecture and then I have obligations with short breaks throughout the day until 8 p.m., when I finally get to rest. You may be wondering, “Daniella, what is so great about having a Monday that's packed with things to do?” Well, like every good story this one involves a dog.

In all honesty, I have complained once or twice about opening the Coffee Closet, the cafe where I work, in Cummings. This is only because it requires two walks across Temple Green toting a small, rolling cooler to bring ice to the shop. Even though my friends make jokes about me walking back and forth with this cooler, I still do it every Monday. I know that, at the end of my journey across the green, I might get a chance to see my new dog friend, Daisy, which is very good workday motivation. Daisy is an English bulldog puppy whose owner, Jaime Thorne, is a professor of music at the College. Jamie lectures in Cummings, where the Coffee Closet is located. It’s been really fun not only building a rapport with Daisy, who runs over to me whenever I open the door to say hello, but also with her owner whose face brightens up almost as much as the number of students who stop her to greet Daisy. Daisy is so popular with students that it’s sometimes hard for Jamie to leave Cummings to take Daisy on her daily walk, which conveniently is timed during my shift. Balancing academics and classwork can be stressful but small things like being able to run into a dog friend or having frequent customers come by makes each day special.