The summer before going into my junior year of high school, I worked four jobs and went to school full time, all so I could graduate a year early from school.
I worked as a hostess at a local restaurant, waitressed at Cracker Barrel, made pizzas at the local pizza joint and I worked in the concession stand at the rec center. How did I have enough time in one day to work two of the four jobs every day, go to school and sleep? I'm not really sure how I did, but I can tell you the daily struggles I faced.
Even though I worked so many jobs, I somehow ended up broke.
Somehow, my money went away faster than it came in. Since this experience, I have learned that off-brand things are as good as the brand name things. Same goes with not having things that other people have; it's okay to not have it.
Your friends aren't your friends if they don't understand your schedule.
Good friends will help with making time for you. Last weekend, I got off work an hour late for my lunch break and my best friend was still willing to meet up with me for lunch.
Surviving on five hours of sleep is OK.
Not ideal, but manageable, even when it is only for two months. There are days where you want to call into work or not log in to your online classes at all that day. There is simply not enough hours in the day to do so.
As the summer days became shorter days and school started up again, I stuck with one job (serving) and taking on a full load of courses again. I still was working 30+ hours a week in the beginning and this is what I learned from that.
Being the youngest person at your work shouldn't be holding you back but it does.
Since I was the youngest person to work at my waitressing job, everyone who did the same job as me felt like they could talk down to me, which will never be the case. No matter your age, never let anyone talk down to you.
Doing your homework 10 minutes before it's due is a manageable (although stressful) thing to do.
I really don't know how I passed my classes without doing my homework ten minutes before it was due. Somehow, it got me through.
Showing up to school three minutes before classes start is a manageable lifestyle.
Imagine getting out of work at 10:00 p.m., three hours of homework ahead of you, an article and essay to write, yet somehow, you need a reasonable amount of sleep. Showing up last minute is a Grade A choice.
After working so much, learning so much and writing so much, I can safely say that working a lot and going to school full time is manageable, just not ideal.
