As soon as I get home from class, all I want to do is jump into a pair of sweatpants, lay in bed and binge-watch the new Black Mirror series on Netflix while eating a pack of Oreos, of course.
I want to be lazy but I know I can’t.
I have to get ready for an eight-hour shift at work– taking orders and serving food to the countless customers rushing in.
Even after, my 15-minute drive home consists of planning the rest of my night like washing the dishes my mom expects me to do, studying for a philosophy test, and helping my younger brother with his math homework.
Balancing all the tasks that come with these daily roles do not only take up a lot of time but may even make life a little more difficult.
According to the El Camino College Factbook, 26 percent of enrolled El Camino adults in the last five years, ages 25 to 44, had jobs while attending school.
As an 18-year-old working 16 to 24 hours a week, taking 15 units, and studying hard to raise my GPA, all I think about is dropping all of my classes so I can watch as many Netflix movies as I want or even get a full eight-hour sleep.
As a second-year student, an older sister, a daughter, and a part-time restaurant server, all I think about is– well, the exact same thing.
However, I know that in order to transfer to UCLA and start a successful career, giving up is not an option.
It may seem like there are not enough hours in the day to get all the tasks completed, but I’ve learned that it’s possible if one learns to manage time wisely.
Unfortunately, a heavy workload was the only way I learned how to do that.
According to a 2015 study by the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, “85 percent of college students reported they had felt overwhelmed by everything they had to do at some point within the past year.”
It’s normal to feel stressed about the number of responsibilities given to a student, but there are also ways of relieving that stress and getting them done.
Obviously, I can’t quit my role as an older sister– and I would never want to– but, I have found that doing what is expected of me is very stressful.
However, I realized that driving my brother everywhere not only serves as a break from my educational anxiety but it also gives me a reason to spend time with him.
Being an older sister is very important to me and I’ve learned to appreciate the small moments of joy that comes with the role.
Away from home, where a lot of the technological distractions lie, I have found that studying at a coffee shop, bookstore, or the El Camino Library helps me finish more than I thought I could.
Studying a few hours outside of the home has shown me an enormous amount of positive change in my grades, and such a simple task is easy to arrange.
Work may not be as easy to schedule, but I’ve had to make the difficult decision to work on the weekends to get a few more extra days during the week for studying.
Many students may not have that option, but education is such a vital factor in one’s career and should be a top priority, especially with all of the opportunities EC gives.
According to the EC Calendar of Events, A free De-Stress for Survival Group is held every Wednesday for those who need a safe place to vent or search for healthy ways to cope.
It’s ok to feel stressed and overwhelmed because it’s so natural as a college student, luckily there are ways to find out how to change certain habits.
Through all of the events that have occurred in such a short amount of time at El Camino, I have learned how to successfully manage my time around the everyday tasks that a student, daughter, and sister brings, but it still doesn’t mean I’d rather binge-watch Netflix and gorge down on Oreos.
