I find it hard to write about anything this week because I work as a theater employee and the massive release of "Avengers: Endgame" has physically and mentally drained me. It's been hard for me to stay focused on anything other than work, so I thought I might as well make the subject of this article about what theater employees have to go through to make moviegoers happy. Buckle in people, this is going to be a fun ride (sarcasm).

Depending on the shift, a theater employee must wake up really early (as early as 6:00 a.m. in some cases) or work really late (as late as 2:30 a.m. in more recent cases). This schedule fluctuates constantly because depending on the time of year, or how big the movie being released is, we could open earlier or later. This could also lead to unfortunate scheduling.

For example, on the Thursday night, when "Avengers: Endgame" was released, I had to work as an usher from 8:30 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. Then, I had to come into work on Friday morning at 8:45 a.m. to open. Which means I got a grand total of about 5 hours of sleep that night and was expected to work one of the busiest weekends in film history.

We must also deal with disgruntled guests who are mad because either the power went off and we have to restart the projectors one at a time at lightning speed, or because their food isn't being made fast enough. I know it can be easy to get mad at people when you feel that they're going too slow or not paying attention to your needs specifically, but please try to have some empathy for those workers.

If you are seeing a movie on a weekday, you are most likely dealing with an understaffed theater, because movie theaters aren't expected to be as busy on those days (although it doesn't really matter when a popular movie is out). We also have to go as fast as we can to accommodate lines of people so they can get their food in time before the movie starts. Sometimes we don't have enough people behind the concession stand to meet that demand.

I know I've said this before, but it needs repeating, Ushers are there to pick up any accidental popcorn, candy, or soda spills that happen in the theater. What we should not be doing, but have to, is pick up piles of trash left on seats, in cup holders, and most infuriatingly left under the seats in the reclining chairs.

Ushers have a limited amount of time (about 20 or 30 minutes) to clean the previous show before people start coming in for the next one. It's very stressful, especially on busier days and when multiple shows end at the same time and you have to go even faster. It would be helpful if you threw some of your trash away to make their jobs run a bit smoother. There's a reason why we put trash cans towards the exits, so it's easier for guests to dispose of their trash as they leave.

I'll admit, I mostly just wrote about this subject so I could vent about this past week and because I didn't have enough time to think of a different topic. However, I feel that it's important to empathize with the service workers who serve you on a daily basis and remember that they're people too. They do backbreaking manual labor for minimum wage in some cases. They have limitations and breaking points that can damage their sense of self-worth and bring them down a depressing road. So remember, please be understanding when it comes to theater employees, it can make us more efficient as a result (it's also the right thing to do).