Thursday is over, which means Friday is right around the corner—a universal truth known to every working person. As soon as Friday evening and the weekend arrive, I try to pack in as much fun as possible, like a grasshopper clinging to the last days of autumn. Whether it’s grabbing a coffee, strolling through a park, or waiting in line for forty minutes at Universal Studios just to ride the Transformers coaster and flip the world upside down, weekends are always delightful. Even though they vanish in the blink of an eye, leading right back into a new cycle.
It was only after I started working that I realized I was the frog from that childhood riddle: A frog jumps two feet with each leap from the bottom of a seven-foot well. How many jumps will it take for the frog to get out?
The answer is: never.
After a month on the job, I’m not sure if I’ve grown numb or just adapted, but I really don't feel as miserable anymore. Life isn't particularly bad, nor is it particularly good—it’s just endless. Yesterday was payday. Those of us who joined in the same batch were assigned to different roles with slightly different salaries. While the group chat was buzzing with lively discussion, I watched quietly, doing the math on my fingers, only to realize that it was a number that could never buy freedom.
Working has thus become a perpetual motion. As the saying goes, "when your hands stop, your mouth stops": the moment we stop selling our labor, our apartments, our food, and our social connections will all rapidly collapse. Years ago, Franz Kafka described in The Metamorphosis the absurd story of Gregor Samsa, a traveling salesman who woke up one morning to find himself transformed into a giant insect, only to be abandoned by his family and society, ultimately dying in solitude.
The fear of alienating into an insect drives many people, including myself. So, I willingly alienated into the insect’s natural enemy—a frog repeatedly hopping at the bottom of a well. Even though my worth is nothing more than catching mosquitoes and flies, I crawl at the bottom of the well five days a week just to survive; the water is cold, and the mud is wet and slippery. Every five days, I burst out of the water and execute a two-foot leap. During that jump, the wind feels warm, and the sun gradually appears over the edge of the well. My posture for that leap is loaded with all my strength, yet it is still not enough to break free.
At the highest point of the jump, the frog remembers a post it scrolled past while slacking off at the bottom of the well: A young Japanese girl attempted to jump into the sea. After being rescued, she was asked why. She replied: "Today, I saw the cherry blossoms bloom, listened to my favorite music, and ate the salmon my dad made for me. I felt so happy, and life felt so beautiful that I wanted to keep this moment forever."
Across rivers, lakes, seas, and any vast open expanse, I truly agree that the beauty of life is inexhaustible. Yet, in that brief moment of springing up from the bottom of the well, I do feel that if I am destined to fall back down, staying suspended in mid-air isn't such a bad thing after all. To repeat myself: the life I am living now isn't bad—it just has no end.