During my first year as an auxiliar, I had Fridays off, and honestly, it felt like I’d hacked the system. Who doesn’t love a long weekend? Thursday nights were my Fridays. I’d walk out of class feeling like I just won the lottery. It was perfect at the time.
But what I didn’t realize back then was that everyone else also loves a long weekend. Which means flights are pricier, and places are busier. Most people fly out Friday and return late Sunday, so those “cheap weekend getaways” often turn into “wow, that’s my entire paycheck.”
Now that I’m in my second year, I have Mondays off, and it’s a game-changer. I can still travel for the weekend, but instead of racing back Sunday night half-dead, I come back Monday afternoon. Flights are cheaper, the crowds are smaller, and I don’t start my week in a full-blown panic.
Plus, having Mondays off just feels… grown-up. Fridays are fun, sure, but Mondays are productive. I can run errands, plan content, go to the beach, or even treat myself to a spa day while everyone else is at work. You know what they say: when you start your week right, it sets the tone for everything that follows. And having a Monday all to yourself? That’s the ultimate reset button.
Fridays off are more of a collapse-and-breathe kind of day. Mondays off are a let’s-get-it-together kind of day. Friday energy says, “I’m done.” Monday energy says, “Let’s begin.”
And honestly, I’m starting to prefer the latter.
Another thing I’ve noticed is that my weeks actually go by faster with Mondays off. Since Monday doesn’t feel like Monday anymore, the whole week kind of sneaks up on you. You go to work on Tuesday, blink, and suddenly it’s Wednesday, and somehow the week is already halfway over. It doesn’t make sense, but trust me, it’s one of those things you just have to experience to believe.
So while first-year me loved the long weekends and late Thursdays, second-year me loves the quiet Mondays, the calm mornings, and the fact that I can come back from a trip rested instead of wrecked. It’s less about squeezing the most out of the weekend and more about easing into the week.
And if you’re really lucky, like won-the-jackpot lucky, you might land the dream schedule: a three-day work week. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Mondays and Fridays off. Congratulations, you’ve officially hit the auxiliar lottery.
But let’s be honest, those schedules are rare. They usually come with what I like to call special circumstances. Translation: you’re probably placed in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by more goats than people, with limited public transportation. You might have to carpool with a teacher who drives in from another town, or take an hour-plus bus ride each way just to get to your school.
In those cases, they often condense your classes into three days to save you from that exhausting back-and-forth commute. So yes, you technically have a “dream” schedule, but you’ll pay for it in travel time and logistics.
Both versions of me had the right idea; it just depends on what kind of energy you want to start (or end) your week with.
Love always,
American Girl Meets World
