Get Bread or Study Ahead
Have you ever been so nervous you almost pee your pants? When I began taking classes at LSC I was extremely nervous about managing my time in school and work. It kept me up at night wondering, “how will I spend my time wisely? How will I manage my social life with work and school? How will I be myself?” I am just kidding, but I was a little nervous about how it would all work out. It scared me to walk into a new job, and a new school blindly. But I could not sacrifice one for the other, so I had to just jump into it. It all started with my new job.
I knew working at college was not a choice because if I was at college, I needed some way to pay for it. I started working at Olive Garden because I imagined it would be a decent job with generous tips. I knew I had to work to pay for all my courses, because in my mind if I could not pay for college then there was no point in going. I mean I cannot get paid to do nothing like I am a senator or something. So, I did not feel guilty when I spent more time at work than I did studying. One of my biggest fears was that I would run out of money at some point this year and be forced to drop out.
In high school I had a reputation of falling behind and slacking, putting stuff off till the absolute last minute to finish things. I knew I could not do that in college and that I really needed to focus if I wanted to succeed. Ever since the first semester started, I have been grinding. I am not putting things off, I am paying attention in class, I am asking questions, and most importantly I’ m trying. But it takes a lot of time, especially with work. I am incredibly pleased with myself for how I am doing, but it is exhausting. It feels like I am super man trying to save the entire world while also getting to work on time. But ever sense I got into a system, I have been more up and positive about things. I have also been taking a couple more days of work off to catch up on assignments and get some more studying in. My boss has been very understanding of the situation I have been put in, which makes me feel very appreciative. I am a vastly different student from high school to college.
I was able to overcome my fear with time management. A lot of assignments posted are not due till a week or two in advance which gives me a lot of time to work on them in my free time. I can work around the time I work, and my social life. I put aside some real time to sit back and study. College is not for the weak. It is mentally and physically exhausting to go to school for four to six hours a day; go home and do homework, then go to work for five to eight hours a shift, to go home finishing homework and working out all do it all over again the next day. I am still working on it, but if you find time to do these things and still manage to have time to yourself, you have it made. Time management is crucial for most anything you do, but it is even more important when you get thrown into college and are expected to figure everything out. The sooner you can get everything planned out and, on a schedule, the sooner you will find success.
I can assure you that if you fear balancing all the tasks associated with college, there is nothing to worry about. If you are willing to work with your teachers and boss, then you’ll be more than ok. Also plan your time wisely and make sure it is balanced correctly. It may seem demoralizing when you first get started but trust me it will get better. I mean ask anyone at LSC, I can guarantee they went through the same thing during their first semester. Express your situation to your teachers and boss, I am sure either one of them will be more than happy to work with you. Balancing school and work can be difficult, but if you put your mind to it, you will be able to find success.
