Being a hard working college student is… well, hard. I’m a full time student and I work 15 to 20 hours a week, as I’m sure a good amount of people do. It’s hard to balance a job, going to class, and studying every night. You can’t just decide which one is more important because you need money for gas, food, textbooks, etc., but you also need to pass your classes, so you can have a job you actually enjoy and one that allows you to make a decent living. It has definitely gotten harder to balance these aspects of my life since I’ve been accepted into a professional program at my college, the University of Louisiana at Monroe’s Occupational Therapy Assistant (OTA) program.
I started the OTA program this summer, which was pretty normal in terms of how hard it was to balance everything because I was through by one o’clock. Since the fall semester has started, it’s harder. I’m in class from eight o’clock in the morning to four o’clock in the afternoon every day except for Wednesday. Instead of getting to go home and study on that day, I go straight to work until six o’clock. I am constantly studying. It’s a vicious, neve-ending cycle of class, work, and homework. I feel like there’s barely enough time for anything other than that. This is going to sound nerdy, but I don’t even have time to read for leisure anymore. Am I the only one who thinks that’s important?
There have been plenty of times when I have to decline going out to the movies or going out to eat with friends because I need to study and because the weekends are the only time when I really get the chance to sit down and submerge myself completely in the notes for an extended period. One of my best friends has jokingly given me the nickname of Grandma because of this (you know who you are and I hope you’re reading this, you meanie).
I’m grateful to be in the position I’m in because not everyone gets the opportunity to go to college and over half of the people who applied to be in the OTA program didn’t make the cut. So missing out on fun nights and being stressed is just a price I have to pay to be able to reach all the goals I have set for myself. I think it’s worth it even though I complain about the work and how tired I am a lot (just ask my boyfriend).
I’ve learned the best thing to do is try not to panic, and when you do to calm yourself down before you start anything. If you’re already freaking out before you start to study, it’s not going to make it any easier on you. Also, it’s okay to go out and not study sometimes- just not too much. You have to have a way to keep yourself sane and to keep yourself from becoming burned out. Don’t forget that.
