I Preferred The Comfort Of The Lie

At the university where I work, like the last university where I worked (the cycle remains unbroken), two barrels sit by each desk. On the right, your standard office gray, with a green trash bag in it. As the name of the bag might indicate, trash goes into this one. To the left, the other one is a July-sky blue, more brashly advertising its use: a big white triangle of arrows above even bigger white letters spelling R-E-C-Y-C-L-E. In smaller letters underneath: "...paper only..."

(Which does not stand as a demand to only recycle paper. But that you shouldn't put plastic and cans and whatever in there. They, instead, go in the green bins, of which there are approximately zero around campus. Unless you have a copy of the student newspaper in your hand and want to get rid of it; then you have green bins swarming around you like narcs at a Dead concert, with nary a blue bin in sight.)

I like having the barrels. It helps provide a small bit of order and sense in a usually chaotic situation. And you can feel good about yourself, because every day you do a little bit to help save the world. Maybe we're just rolling the rock uphill, but at least we aren't Sisyphus' jerky friends who just stayed at the bottom of the hill, smoking and littering.

The other day, I got to work earlier than usual. The janitor, who I usually never see, came by while my computer booted up. She smiled and we exchanged some light pleasantries. As we did so, she picked up the gray barrel by my desk and dumped the contents into her big bin of trash. She put the gray one down, picked up the blue one - and dumped all its paper into the same bin. She smiled again and rolled the bin down the hall, heading out to empty every other color-coded pair into the same place.

Why I Am Awesome: Despite having my faith in humanity, society, and College Recycling Services completely shaken, I continue to put all paper products in its proper blue receptacle. My silent protests will encourage them to amend their ways; eventually, they will see the effort people put forward and will start actually recycling the contents of the recycle bins.

Why I Am Not Awesome: That's completely delusional.