Being a college student receiving their education through Zoom for more than a year has been difficult, to say the least.
At first, it seemed like not having to drive to campus for classes meant that I’d have a lot of free time on my hands. I just had to log in for class twice a day, four times a week, and afterwards I had time to spend on anything I’d like.
That mentality brought me to take on many new responsibilities. It gave me a sense of having time to do more. At the beginning of the pandemic, I was working a part-time job as an assistant manager and going to school full-time.
As the fall semester progressed, I decided to join Long Beach State’s National Association of Hispanic Journalists as the vice president and have held that position since. My time as vice president has allowed me to grow as a journalist while making amazing connections with other student journalists and industry professionals. Gaining leadership skills have helped me in my day to day life.
During that same semester I enrolled in two writing classes, reporting for the Daily Forty-Niner and DÍG en Español, where we gained real-life reporting experience. At times I would have to step out of work in order to interview someone for a story I was working on. I also took on a copy editor role at DÍG en Español where I was able to edit my peers’ articles written in Spanish.
Then I was offered a job at a restaurant and since I have to pay tuition, I decided to take it.
To recap, I had eight different titles at one point. How I balanced it, I have no idea.
It got overwhelming and at times I felt like I was not capable of doing all these things. I’d get home from one job and rush home to do homework just before getting ready for my next shift. I felt like I was doing too much.
At times, it is difficult to miss out on things and even more so when my friends and family express how unfortunate it is that I’m never there. Thankfully, though, most of the time they understand that I am busy for a purpose.
Honestly, I cannot confidently say that I have it all under control, but I do believe that everything in life is a sacrifice and I see this as my journey to reach my end goal.
What has helped me stay on top of everything is planning out each day on my planner and making sure I dedicate time for everything. I also use my days off from work to focus solely on completing any school-related tasks.
There is still a lot I have to work on in terms of managing my time. As of right now, I want to focus on letting myself breathe once in a while.
I am lucky to have my parents support me in this journey as they provide me with ease when I get overwhelmed. Balancing many different responsibilities is not easy whatsoever, but it is rewarding to see the end result. It is not impossible, and I cannot wait to reflect back on these days when I make it.