As August approaches I find myself mentally preparing for a life of working full-time and going to school full-time. In today's society, working and going to school simultaneously is nothing out of the ordinary. There are adult students who have had their bachelors for years and are now seeking a masters or doctorate, while some of us are still striving for our bachelors or associates degree. Even high school students are feeling the pressure to also hold down a job in this unstable economy. Here are a few things all students who work full-time will completely understand.
1. Power naps are your best friend.
Between going to classes, driving to work, pulling the eight hour shifts and rushing home to finish up assignments, sleeping becomes almost non-existent. Finding time to sleep in the chaos of the day could almost be an Olympic event. Between using your lunch break to take a quick nap, or the impressive one hour nights sleep after staying up all night to study for an exam the next day, those recommended eight hours of sleep are a fantasy.
Reality for a student who works full-time is to just sleep whenever we find the chance, even in those few minutes right before lecture starts.
2. Having a social life...Don't make me laugh!
If we are going to have time for work, school, and the occasionally nap, then trying to have a social life would be impossible. At least while school is in session, having a social life is very seldom experienced; however during those fall breaks, spring breaks and semester breaks we cannot get enough of living life beyond our jobs and book pages.
3. Did I even eat today?
Between darting across campus to my next class, racing from campus to work before I am late, and rushing home to submit an assignment before the deadline, a meal becomes a whatever is found in the closest vending machine.
In the rare moments we remember to eat, it seems fast food isn't fast enough, we forgot to go to the grocery store, and there is no such thing as a sit down meal (unless you count the meal you sit in your car and eat). All in all vending machines are your friends--stocked with breakfast (poptart), lunch (chips and soda), dinner (look a blueberry poptart!) and even dessert (honey buns!). It is not ideal, but deciding between eating properly or catching a 30 minute power nap on lunch breaks is a hard decision. Personally, I prefer to sleep!
4. TV time is a thing of the past.
I have found that I binge watch all my favorite shows on my breaks from school. Seems like the no matter what sleep is not on my list of top priorities!
See, the worst part of working and going to school could possibly be missing out on all our favorite t.v. shows. I have tried the watching TV while doing homework on the few days I have off from work, but that usually ends with me missing something either on the TV show or on my homework.
Some people may have mastered the fine art of studying and watching TV (kuddos to them); however, already being sleep deprived, exhausted from work, drained of all thinking ability, and having no solid food on your stomach does not make for promising outcome of trying to multi-task studying with TV.
5. We are a unique breed.
Having the ability to maintain a commendable GPA while putting in 40+ hours into work a week without completely losing our sanity is quite a talent. We have managed to organize our lives to support families and ourselves all the while chasing our dreams, and striving for higher education. We look past the sleepless nights, abundance amounts of coffee, sore joints from working and see the light at the end of the tunnel--us standing there accepting our diploma proudly knowing we worked our asses off to get to that moment.
So keep up the good work! You can do it! The end result has to be worth it right?
