During the last year of my university schooling, I've experienced the drive and struggle of balancing a job and classes can create. Feeling the exhaustion after a long shift, but knowing you have to power through the rest of the night or the following morning, despite maybe not getting enough sleep. Commuting to work or researching jobs that are hiring has become one of the biggest struggles for part-time working college students. While working an off-campus job, I've experienced the hardship of not having time to study or complete my assignments in a timely manner. Compared to many on-campus jobs that give opportunity to study while working, or have flexible hours for finals and pressure-filled weeks. These struggles have shown me how much value I need to place on my time management and classes. Showing up for work is a necessity, and being on time shows commitment and drive to be a devoted employee, even in part-time work. Finding ways to integrate my learning into my work days was difficult at first, but turning my commute into time to listen to material or reading sections of my texts during my breaks has taken the pressure off completing abundant amounts of work post-shift. One of the greatest accomplishments and helpful tools I've integrated into my schooling whilst working is a deadline list; creating a list of all my tasks for the semester for each class with deadlines attached makes it clear to me when a new assignment's deadline is coming up or what I could be working on whilst I feel I am caught up. Seeing this list with the closest deadline being a week, even two weeks ahead of the point where at brings me so much ease. While working in customer service-dominated industries, I found it even more educational to talk to customers about things I've learned and apply them to situations they may be facing that I can help with. Many of my interdisciplinary education classes have been extremely helpful in creating an environment where all feel welcome and want to be a part of. Even the smallest step up offset my anxiety about falling behind. Many students find themselves learning time management for the first time in University. I believe that working during this time can further encourage you to learn what works best for you and how time management can benefit your learning as an individual. Even with the struggle of affording university and balancing classes, I believe that working has set me up for many successful years ahead.

My experience with mental health has reshaped my perception. When retracing my previous expectations of goals and milestones, they felt out of reach. Like something I was never going to get to experience. Defining my current reality of goals, I have reached so many accomplishments and milestones I never thought I'd experience. Graduating High-school, attending my first year of college, experiencing my first committed relationship, and so much more. Nurturing my mental health and realize how much I am truly capable of through my own talents, skills, efforts has shown me how much more I can get out of my life. I now cannot wait to see what career I end up with, what college has to offer for me, and what relationships will stay with me for a long time or come and go. My relationships were always kept distant and underdeveloped when I was going through a hard time, I never wanted to feel like I disappointed someone or let them down. I've had many relationships, friends or partners, that attached themselves to my feelings, undervaluing them overall. I've grown to be able to understand when someone is taking advantage of your mental state and manipulating you, I try my hardest to show others what that can look and feel like in a relationship. Avoiding and getting away can be the hardest yet most necessary step. Watching others face similar experiences I've have had makes me realize how much a little gesture can change each day. I want to be able to provide people with those simple pick-me-ups that I believe would've been there for me.