The Cruel Reality of Working Multiple Jobs As A Full Time Student

Being a college student isn't all that easy, at least it isn't for me. I work three jobs, something that I mention quite often in my posts, especially as of late. Add in the responsibilities of being a full-time student, and you got a constant state of anxiety and depression, which is what I am living in. 

I can hear you saying 'why don't you cut something out?' Well, I need one job for the money, and the other two are journalism jobs that I have in my field, which is the much needed experience that every journalism person on the planet will tell you is necessary until they are blue in the face. And, of course, I need to go to school and do reasonably well, because without school or education, I wouldn't be able to get anywhere. 

With all this going on, I have no time for a social life, something that makes me sad. I rarely have time to meet with friends, to do things I enjoy and basically just to be a normal 21 year old. I'm not here to complain, but the reality just sucks. 

As the semester progresses, I have less than six weeks until I get through this tough semester. That thought gets me through, although it's not going to help me now. Going to a therapist helps me learn how to change my habits, to learn to be nice and less harsh on myself and to help me deal with the cruel realities of adulthood. In life, there's sometimes when you have to go through something hard to appreciate the fruits of hard work. 

At the end of the day, that's all I can hope for. 

Six weeks until I can leave behind town meetings, long days at school and trying to squeeze everything in less than a week's time. I know I can do it, but I know I need to add something else to the agendas as well. And that's taking care of Natalie, and just doing things that make me happy. Why? Because it's more important than any grade or salary that I would receive. That's what matters more than anything. 

So, readers, if you're in college and having a rough semester, know that you're not alone. Tell me about your own personal experiences in the comments below. I know we can get through this, together. Just remember your sanity is worth more than any ol' grade. It's even worth more than a million dollars. 

Having Fun or Being Responsible?

When I go out with friends, I often refrain from drinking, partying and doing other things such as using marijuana recreationally. I also don't condemn those who do those things. My Friday nights are often spent at home watching Netflix with my dog because I'm too tired to do much else. It's a choice I made personally, but when I do go out it's rare. I'm an introvert and I'm proud of it.
However, with some of my friends, I feel like when I go out with them I have to be the responsible one. I don't drink or smoke, so it's quick for me to become the voice of reason and to take care of those who have. It's not fair, and it's something I feel should be addressed. Just because I am not under any influence or high doesn't mean that I have to assume the right of caretaker.
Sure, getting drunk can be kind of fun. I can often be perceived as "innocent" for not partaking in a lot of partying activities. That's not a realistic way to judge someone. My version of fun isn't getting plastered on a Friday and Saturday night. My version of fun doesn't contain drinking. I don't drink because it's a personal choice I made for myself. However, I have friends whose versions of fun do in fact contain those things.
Let me say this first before I continue: I do in fact care about my friends. I don't judge them because they have a lot to drink. The reason why I take care of them is simply because I care about them, and want them to not do things that could potentially hurt them.
I'm not writing this to judge them. I'm writing this to say I'm sick and tired of having to be the "responsible" one when it comes to friends drinking.  I'm tired of worrying about friends who make unhealthy decisions, such as driving drunk and then feeling responsible for them when they do make those mistakes. I'm tired of having to take care of friends who indulge too much. This has happened a few times now and it's something that I'm sick of doing. It's really not fun nor is it fair to me, because on the rare occasion I do go out, I want to actually have fun. I deserve that, because I work hard enough.
I believe if you're going to drink, you need to be responsible for yourself. Just because you've had a few drinks doesn't mean that you forgo the right to make important decisions for yourself. Don't become someone else's problem to take care of you if you're drinking too much and making bad decision. If you want to have a drink, designate one driver to drive. Then, every time you're going out alternate them. Be sure to not drink too much so that designator doesn't have to take care of you if things go crazy. Be responsible, because you're an adult and need to responsible for yourself.
I'm writing this as a rant and to make people more aware about how I'm feeling. I shouldn't have to choose between having fun or being responsible.  It's just really unfair for me. 

Pepe's Reunion & Fall Hike

Between school and juggling many jobs, it's been hard for me to maintain a social life. Needless to say, I haven't. However, in the past week I managed to finally pencil in some time for some fun things for me to do.

                                                              A picture of some fall foliage.
The first thing that I did this past week was to go on a mini hike with Griffin, whose home from school. We first went to get food at the food trucks in New Haven, where you can get a lot of amazing food for an extremely low price. I got pad Thai with chicken, and he got a burrito. (I'm afraid I didn't get any pictures of the food)
 After we had Thai food, we went to hike (briefly) since it was a beautiful day since it was nice weather. The top picture shows some fall foliage that was spotted during our hike. It was nice to spend some time with him, especially since I haven't seen him in a while. I hope that we can go on a more lengthy hike in the future, because he's really fun to go hiking with.
 
 Enjoying some pizza!
This past Thursday night, I also went to Pepe's (which was recently voted the best pizza in the US) with Theresa and Verenized. It has been a while since we last hung out, so it was nice to catch up together. I had an original pie without cheese since I can't have mozzarella and it was amazing! They had a mushroom pizza, which I didn't get a picture of. If you are in the New Haven area, or with a Pepe's in general I recommend that you try it.
 
After we ate, we hung out a bit before heading home. Overall, it was a fun (and well-needed) night!
Hopefully, I'll be able to have more of a life and a chance to do fun things with friends (and blog about them) more frequently. #collegestudentproblems

End of the Semester Photo Diary

These past few weeks have been so busy with events from school, final projects and just life in general. Here's a quick recap, in case you all were wondering what I've been up to as of late.
The Big Event:
For those of you who don't know, the Big Event is an event at most college campuses where many gather to volunteer. This year, Monica and I decided to get together. We ended up raking leaves at a local park which was really fun. It felt so good to give back and learn more about New Haven's history.

Monica and I. Monica is wearing the free T-Shirt we got.
New Haven Adventures with Squad:
A few weeks ago, my friends from the newspaper and I decided to go to a Mediterranean restuarant in downtown New Haven. After eating, we ventured to Blue State, where I had a warm apple cider, and then we went to a bunch of various shops across New Haven. We ended our adventure with a sweet treat-fro yo. Since I'm now lactose intolerant, I got dairy free yogurt, which actually wasn't half bad. And of course, we took mad selfies.

Jene and Monica. Jess had to leave early.
 
What lactose intolerant kids eat when at Fro Yo.
Lighthouse Park with other Squad: 
One Sunday we decided to hang out after I got out of work. Our destination? Light House park, where we took a ton of photos, thanks to Theresa's boyfriend. We then hit up Olive Garden, where there was a lot of breadsticks and yummy food.

Friends (Theresa and Verenized)

I try to be cute sometimes.


The beach as the sun sets. 

Day At The Beach!

Okay guys, it's time to get your thinking caps on. What's the best thing about summer? Is it no school? Well, yeah. Is it the fact that you can wear next to nothing in public for three months and it's socially acceptable? Yeah, that's fun. Is it the fact that there's no snow on the ground? Well, who likes shoveling snow? No, it's the fact that you can go to the beach for hours on end!
Gabriel and I went to my beach house on Monday. My family is lucky enough to own some property on the oceanside, so we hung out there. I love going there, because not only does it bring back memories of childhood, it's a good way to make life, well easier.
We spend the day pretty much chilling by the ocean, and it was a blast. Here's a few of my favorite photos from our beach day! I hope to do it again soon!

                           Gabriel's shell city.

 Us!

 Seaside Cosmo! 

  #artsy

 Another picture of the water.

Us! (My fave)