2016 has gotten a bad reputation. Wait, who am I kidding 2016 was horrible.
We lost a lot of amazing people. There was only a few days left and we lost Grandma Maggie and Princess Leia.
Personally I lost myself trying to balance my time between school, work and being a journalist. I am sure many of you can relate at least with the school and work part.
Declaring that you’re a journalism major raises a lot of questions from family members. At family reunions, there will always be that one aunt that hits you with the “Are you sure you want to go into journalism? Newspapers are dying.”
These statements might make you reconsider your career choice but always be confident in the direction you are going no matter what career you are pursuing.
Becoming a journalist I thought writing was enough, but it’s not. You need to understand all aspects of what makes a good story like photos, videos and more.
This career consists of a lot of late nights, and lots and lots of copy-editing. For all you journalism majors that’s not the most terrifying part; it’s the fact that you’re not done with math, sorry.
On top of having all the responsibilities that come with being a journalism major there are also those general education classes, and yes, that’s where math comes along.
Math isn’t and will never be my strong suit. Math is just so time consuming it takes about two hours to just figure out one problem.
I would always procrastinate on doing my homework because I knew it would take too long. One time I literally started doing my homework at 5 a.m. for my 7 a.m. class. That’s just who I am.
Why start around 5 a.m.? Let’s not forget that going to school costs money. Financial aid always tells us we deserve thousands of dollars every semester but give us none because our parents make so much.
Financial aid thinks my parents work just to give me all their money, no, that’s not how it works.
A full time, low income student is then obligated to fit a job into their schedule.
Only place I found willing to work with my schedule was a movie theater job. I usually have to work my school schedule around my work, but let’s not get into that right now.
My work schedule usually ranges from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. or 6 p.m. to 3 a.m. then need to be up by 7 a.m. the next morning but I mean a college student doesn’t need sleep right?
For everyone trying to balance out school and work and any other responsibilities, it is possible. I’m not saying it is easy but it’s possible.
Let’s get work done this semester!
Buy a planner and write what needs to get done during the week and make time. Take your homework to work if you have to.
Having trouble in a class? Go get help from the success center that’s located right on campus, even if it’s just 15 minutes.
Most importantly start getting comfortable with deadlines and late nights.
I know I can’t blame my problems on 2016 but why not? It already took so much. I’m just hoping for a better year in 2017; and hopeful to be able to manage my responsibilities this year round.
