Is work life better than college?

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Abstract

the times I froze in deep fear while taking an exam because I didn’t know how to answer any of the questions.</p><h2 id="8ab1">More freedom?</h2><p id="2b11">I have a lot more of what I didn’t have back then: Time and money. Last year, I went to Spain in the middle of the October with 2 of my close friends. This year, I’m spending a month with my family in another state while working from home.</p><p id="1f42">Much of this freedom comes from the fact that I work a hybrid job with great flexibility, benefits, and time off. But even with this, I don’t get those long, three month summers anymore. My friends don’t live down the hall anymore and they all, too, have their own full time jobs. I have to carefully plan out my vacations each year. And while I used to occasionally sleep in and skip class with little to no consequences, that’s just not going to fly with work.</p><p id="4660">Time management is crucial. Once you start consistently working a full time, 8 hour/day job, you learn pretty quickly that you need a routine, and you need to stick to it.</p><p id="869e">

Options

Otherwise, you’ll start to lose somewhere: in sleep, eating habits, relationships … and you’ll very quickly become drained, both mentally and physically.</p><p id="b90d"><b><i>Long gone are the days when I could stay out late on a weekday because I had no classes the next day.</i></b></p><p id="7348">I wake up and go to bed at the same time every day during the week. And most of the time now, I use weekends to recharge and catch up on sleep.</p><h2 id="9342">Plus, with more income comes increasing responsibility. I’ve got to pay rent, electricity, wifi, and worst of all… student loans.</h2><figure id="25f6"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*[email protected]"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><p id="d222">I don’t really have much else to say on that note, other than the fact that I do love my current apartment way more than I loved any dorm I had.</p><h2 id="8870">I love the working life.</h2><p id="3350">Do I miss college? Of course I do. If I can help it, I’m also not trying to go back anytime soon.</p></article></body>

I’ve been working full-time for over a year now. The answer is complicated.

I still remember being dropped off for my first official night at college.

Don’t you?

My first night in my college dorm

Looking back, I’m immediately filled with overwhelming feelings of nostalgia, longing, and in some ways, grief. I miss being that wide eyed kid entering into a world made of everything new — knowing anything and everything was possible and within my reach.

In many ways, I still feel that way. I’m only 23 after all — my life is barely getting started. And what I don’t immediately think about when I look fondly back at my college years are all the times I slammed my head into my desk in frustration, the 72-hour straight caffeine-fueled rushes to finish final projects, and the times I froze in deep fear while taking an exam because I didn’t know how to answer any of the questions.

More freedom?

I have a lot more of what I didn’t have back then: Time and money. Last year, I went to Spain in the middle of the October with 2 of my close friends. This year, I’m spending a month with my family in another state while working from home.

Much of this freedom comes from the fact that I work a hybrid job with great flexibility, benefits, and time off. But even with this, I don’t get those long, three month summers anymore. My friends don’t live down the hall anymore and they all, too, have their own full time jobs. I have to carefully plan out my vacations each year. And while I used to occasionally sleep in and skip class with little to no consequences, that’s just not going to fly with work.

Time management is crucial. Once you start consistently working a full time, 8 hour/day job, you learn pretty quickly that you need a routine, and you need to stick to it.

Otherwise, you’ll start to lose somewhere: in sleep, eating habits, relationships … and you’ll very quickly become drained, both mentally and physically.

Long gone are the days when I could stay out late on a weekday because I had no classes the next day.

I wake up and go to bed at the same time every day during the week. And most of the time now, I use weekends to recharge and catch up on sleep.