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Balancing school with work as a college student is nowhere near easy

(Photo courtesy University of Colorado Denver)  As of the second quarter of 2019, total outstanding student loan debt in the United States exceeded $1.6 trillion and represented the largest source of non-housing debt for American households.

Kaitlyn Sullivan
Connector Staff

As a kid, I was always excited about attending college based on the portrayal of it in the media. I was led to believe that it was a never-ending slumber party with my closest friends, and classes always seemed to be the least of the character’s worries.

While I am now older and have realized that the media showed me a romanticized idealization of the college experience, there are still aspects that I am enjoying. I love constantly being around my friends and appreciate every opportunity that will help advance my future career path.

Although, I am now also getting to experience the less exciting aspects of college that the media purposely leaves out, specifically the financial issues.

There is no denying that college is extremely pricey and only getting more expensive over time. When looking at all the numbers, one may be intimidated or even horrified at how much money goes into our education, especially considering that before this point of our lives, most of us haven’t had to spend so much on bills.

Therefore, on top of the normal amount of stress that comes from classes, such as grades or exams, students also have the added stress of wondering how they can afford their education and where that money is coming from.

If you told a younger version of myself that she would be working two jobs in college just to keep up with bills, she’d be disappointed. She would much rather use her time dedicating herself to taking every opportunity for a brighter future, not going back home every weekend to get extra cash, constantly stressed at how there never seems to be enough time for it all.

Outside of classes, I work two jobs—one off-campus and the other here through work-study. My off-campus job is with a Starbucks near my hometown. While this article isn’t a critique of a barista’s experience,  it certainly doesn’t help that I just get yelled at by customers after a long week of classes every weekend.

On the other hand, with my own personal experience having a work-study job, I have found it to be overall positive. Having a job through the school allows for a lot of flexibility with the schedule and if something happens to come up, my boss is always willing to coordinate with me.

Also, considering that I work a desk job, this is the time I use to work on my homework, which is much needed. The people that I work with understand that my education comes first, which I am very appreciative of since all my other outside responsibilities can cloud that idea at times.

When talking to other students who have jobs, whether it is on-campus or off, many have said that having this extra layer of responsibility can be overwhelming. It is hard trying to find the time to complete everything, and it becomes difficult to even find the time for self-care.

Between trying to balance my schoolwork and my job, I am left constantly tired and I feel like I can never put my all into anything I do. I simply do not have the energy. I am honored to have the opportunities that I have, so I want to be able to utilize them to the best of my ability, but that just feels impossible at this rate.

Coming to college has truly been an amazing experience, though I was not ready for the financial struggle that comes from it. When trying to do work for school and for my job, I’m left drained to the point that I feel I cannot do anything that could potentially relieve me of the stress of these environments; and I know that I am far from the only one with this struggle.

I understand that all of this work is necessary and that I need to pay for my education as it is a privilege. But at the same time, I miss the times in which money was not an issue. I know that my original vision for college was not realistic, but there are times where I fear that I am missing out on truly living out my college experience as I run myself thin due to my financial situation.