For as long as I can remember, I have pushed myself to the limits.

College orientation said "good luck holding a job that schedules you over 25 hours a week while taking a full course load." I said "okay, let me go get 2 jobs and take on the task of being an Odyssey content editor AND take a full course load." Yeah, I am THAT girl.

While some people may think that is awesome and badass of me, there's always a part of me that wishes I just wanted to be a normal college student. There's a part of me that wishes that I was okay with working a part-time job and having free time. Yes, it's great when people tell me that I have a great work ethic. It's a nice compliment to know my work is getting noticed. But I've found that piling on hours of work isn't the best thing, either.

For starters, working 50 hour work weeks this summer has been tough. Taking summer classes along with this has been tough. Trying to balance everything has been extremely hard. So please, don't look at my schedule and how I put myself out there and think that I'm making time for things that are important. Within all of these jobs, I have neglected some of the most important people in my life.

Is having a job important? Yes. I do not mean to take away from that. What I am trying to get at is that if you are a workaholic, like myself, you have to find ways to take care of yourself in the process. You may be going on a month streak where you've worked everyday, and that may seem great, but I promise you're going to be tired and agitated and hating life towards the end of that streak because it is just too much and you know it.

I think that's the worst part for me. I sign up for all of these shifts thinking that I'll be able to do it no problem, but when I actually try to work 40+ hours in a week at 2 different jobs, I feel more like a zombie than anything because I don't take the time to breathe and sit down.

The moral of this story, moreover, is that having a job is important. But you are important too. Don't let the idea of a big paycheck blind you from all of the things you will be neglecting in the process of getting that check. It's great that you have a hunger and a desire to work. But you also have to be kind to yourself, and know that NO ONE, and I mean no one, can constantly be one step ahead of the game. Be nice to yourself, I promise it'll pay off in the long run.