April marked my final month of the spring semester. I was hard at work on my final projects and meet with an academic advisor to plan for the fall semester. I turned in my last assignment on May 10th. It marked the end of the semester and the start of summer break. My first semester had its ups and downs, but I made it through it. There were days that I wanted to throw in the towel, and I was beyond tired and overwhelmed. Coming home late from work, then staying up late to study and work on assignments was exhausting. I graduated back in 2012 with my associate degree. I had always wanted to go back to school, but I kept putting it off. When I decided to go back, I was nervous. It had been years since I wrote an easy or took a quiz.
Returning to the Classroom
Going back to school, was scary but I knew it was something I needed to do to build a better life for myself. One that’s filled with happiness and abundance, so I took a chance enrolled in school and uprooted my life, and moved to Denver. My first semester went better than expected. When the semester started I was overwhelmed looking at all the modules and assignments, I had to remind myself to take it one step at a time. I have a bad habit of wanting to take on everything at once, then I get overwhelmed. To help with this I bought a planner, and on Monday’s I looked at what assignments I had for the week. Then I broke it down and schedule it throughout the week, so I wasn’t overwhelmed. It helped to minimize that overwhelming feeling of trying to tackle everything at once.
Returning to school meant I had to do things that I hadn’t done in years like writing essays. 2012 was the last time I had to write an essay and use MLA or APA format. Luckily, schools have resources to help students succeed. When I had to write my first essay for my history class I reached out to the writing center. They guided me through the process and gave me resources for writing essays. I had to write two essays for my history class and I got a 100% on each one. The writing center was a huge help, and I feel confident in writing essays.
Balancing School and Work
Going to school part-time and working was a challenge. There would be days where I would want to sleep in instead of going to work. My work schedule wasn’t as consistent as I liked. I had to days where I stay up late to finish homework, then have to wake up early to go to work. Time management was key in juggling the two. One of the tools I used was time blocking. On days I had to work, I would block my time to get as much done as possible. A lot of times I would have a hard time focusing because I was tired. On those days, I would step away from school work to collect myself. Then return to it after I had a moment to rest my mind.
In my opinion, balancing both work and school is one of the hardest parts of going to school. You need to work to pay bills, and in going to school your building a better future for yourself. They’re both important and take up a lot of your time. There’s no right or wrong way to balance the two. It depends on the type of job you have and the types of classes you’re taking. The best thing you can do is find that works for you. It’s not going to be perfect, because nothing in. Long as you find a balance that allows you to keep up with both. You’ll be able to succeed.
What I learned
It took me a few weeks to get into a routine with school. For years, I didn’t have to worry about homework, studying, or writing essays. It was overwhelming at first, but I got used to it and found what worked for me. When faced with a challenge it’s best to break it down and take it on little by little. Try new things and find what works for you. You don’t have to become an expert overnight.
What’s Next?
Now that spring semester it’s time to take a break. I’m going to spend the summer exploring Colorado and work on some creative projects. While I was in school it was my main focus outside of work. I put blogging, cosplay, and anything fun to the side. That way I could focus on school and have a successful spring semester and finish with good grades. It’s not something I plan on doing again in the fall. I lacked balance during the spring semester and found myself feeling burnt out. I’m going to change up things for the fall but in the meantime. I’m going to have some fun before returning to school for the fall semester. I plan on returning to my blogging schedule once a week and getting more involved in the community again. Still no conventions, but I want to work on some cosplay projects for when it’s safe for conventions to be held again.
My first semester at MSU Denver had its ups and downs, I learned what worked and what didn’t. It wasn’t perfect, but I learned and I can apply what I learned to the next semester. I’m one step closer to reaching my goal and getting my bachelor’s degree.
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So exciting! I’m glad to hear that you are balancing school and work. That’s one of the challenges I remember when I was in college too.