With a backpack full of fresh supplies and a pencil box that would jingle, I was off to my first day of college.

I quit my job to pursue an education that would ensure I could provide for myself in the future. I was super excited for my first semester. I was the first one outside of my English class waiting for the professor to show up.

No introductions among students were assigned, just a simple syllabus was provided. As the instructor read the paper, I learned I would have to buy books for the course. This came as a surprise since I didn’t need to buy books for school before.

I made my way to the bookstore on campus to find the textbook I needed. With $300 dollars in my bank account I knew I could afford the book with no problem.

That is, until I found the book I needed. I almost toppled over when I saw the price. $120 dollars for a simple English book titled ‘EVERGREEN’. Little did I know college textbooks would cost an arm and a leg.

With three other classes left to buy books for and with these outrages prices, I was not going to make it with the little money I had left over. At this moment, I started to second guess why I quit my job.

I had a full-time job, 10 minutes away from my house and I got paid well, every Friday. But I wasn’t following my dreams. I was helping someone else follow theirs.

I was forced to come up with a solution for my problem. I didn’t have a job, I missed the deadline for financial aid, and I didn’t want to ask my parents for money.

I also didn’t want to apply for loans because eventually I had to pay them back. According to CNBC over 44 million Americans carry student loan debt and I definitely wasn’t going to be added to that category. So, I had to put on my big girl pants and find a job. Any job at this point would do.

I applied to jobs everywhere, some that I had no interest in, but I had to do what I had to do. I eventually got hired at Burlington for the holiday season.

Once January came around, the management didn’t want to work with my school schedule so I was let go. I figured not many companies would want to work with a student’s schedule since they always want full time employees. I went in a full circle back to square one on having to see where I was going to get money for next semester’s textbooks, gas and anything else I needed.

Once again I started looking for a job and found the Ticket Office at El Camino was hiring so I applied. I got an interview and got the job. I was at happy I found a solution to my problem.

Now, I had to make sure I was able to balance school and work plus limit my spending habits. I couldn’t go back to spending money like crazy. After all I still had more classes in college to get through all requiring me to purchase expensive textbooks.

Having to pause and think if I really needed to buy those shoes, or that piece of clothing was hard. After all I was still a broke college student who needed to learn how to manage her money.

Hoping to avoid getting a job so I could focus on my college studies didn’t go as planned. But, I soon learned to manage my money and my time.

Now, on my second year of college, I have a steady job and can pay for my required textbooks with no problem.