Having a job is not easy, and neither is college. Doing both is just a nightmare, and if you hold more than one job while working in college, you are the real MVP. For the first semester and the first half of my second semester I worked two jobs as a college freshman (yes I just called myself an MVP), and it was awful and stressful. I was always stressed out, I felt like I had no free time, and I was always tired. I frequently missed time with my friends and missed fun campus events. I know I kind of did it to myself, but some people don't understand the reality of working in college.

A lot of people think that working as a student isn't hard, and that it is the student's fault for working, so they shouldn't complain about being tired or behind in school work. The reality? Student workers do the jobs that nobody else wants to do, and our fellow students would be kind of lost without us. For example, I worked in the dining hall, and there were numerous times students would ask me questions about where something was, or if we were out of stock, or when food was coming up on line. Sometimes I would wonder to myself, "What would they do without student workers?" This doesn't just apply to the dining hall, but all fields that students work in. They stand in when staff are busy or not available. So to non-working students, next time you see a student worker or hear a friend talking about working, give them a little praise. They are working harder than you know.

A word of advice to student workers: take it easy. I know that the money is tempting to work extra hours, but I promise, you will thank yourself if you don't pick up those extra shifts. For some students, working is necessary, and for others it is to have some spending money. For me, I had a job for each. I typically enjoyed going to work simply because of the people I worked with. It started to get to the point that I dreaded going to work; I was always tired, and always afraid to check my email because I was afraid that I would be asked to switch or pick up extra shifts. I, being the helpful person I like to think I am, would try to pick up shifts even when I couldn't really handle it mentally. Real problems started to arise when I was feeling so stressed about going to work because I feared I would not be able to do my homework, and I was staying up super late to try to accomplish everything. I started to feel like college was dragging me down because of my work schedules. I was tried, stressed, miserable, and often cranky. So I did something I felt awful about: I quit one of my jobs. I felt like I was letting down my work team, and I also felt like I was giving up on myself, as if I was a quitter and not strong enough to keep going. That wasn't really true, but me being hard on myself. I knew that if I continued working both jobs, I was going to completely burn myself out, and hurt my college experience. I knew I was going to hurt my bank account a little bit, but my health (physical and mental) is more important, so make sure you take care of yourself.

Being a student worker is not easy. We work a little bit harder, and sometimes a whole lot longer, than other students. We juggle multiple responsibilities and often little to no free time. We tend to complain about work a lot, but most often with good reason (but don't make a habit of it). The best advice I could give to any student worker is to remember to take care of yourself first, then your school, then your job (I promise your job will understand). I know that what you are doing is hard, but I promise it will make you a stronger, more determined person than you already are. You will feel more successful about yourself. To all other students, if you see an on campus student worker, give them a little thanks or praise; I promise it will make their day, and make them feel appreciated. To all my fellow on-campus student workers, and all student workers: keep your head up. You've got this.