Working 4 Jobs as a Full-Time Student

I know what you're thinking...I'm absolutely insane. And, well, you're not wrong! Here's the deal, they're all part-time jobs, so I'm not as fully booked as you would think. Still, it's a lot on my plate. Maybe pre-COVID I would have been able to handle this with more ease, but 2 years of a break from in-person classes and in-person work has made me quite rusty. The 2 jobs I am most dedicated to are my Conversation Partner (CP) job at the Student Success Center and my Peer Advisor position at Klein Global Opportunities—both of which I have held since my sophomore year. This semester, I added two new jobs: Klein Rising Peer Mentor and server at Margarita's Mexican Restaurant in Collegeville, PA.

I bet you're wondering how I have the time for all of this on top of being a full-time student. Basically, I work 6 hours as a CP, 9 hours as a Peer Advisor, 2-5 hours as a Peer Mentor, and 10+ hours on Saturdays only as a server. Altogether, that's around 30 hours a week, which is the maximum Temple University allows for undergraduate students anyway. With my 12-credit schedule, my days usually start at 10 am and end at around 5 pm every day—pretty standard. But, despite the fact that was meticulously thought-out and sounds like a fantastic plan on paper, I didn't account for needing a transition period with things being completely back in-person. I knew that I would gain motivation and energy from being able to attend lectures, having to hand in physical pieces of homework, and taking tests with a pen and paper. But, I didn't realize that despite how much more I enjoyed things being in-person, they could still mentally exhaust me.

Ever since the semester started, I have had more trouble waking up than I have ever had in my life. When I was in high school, it took everything in me to get up before 7:30 am. But now, it takes everything in me to get up before 9:45 am. I know comparing my current state to my high school self doesn't do any good, but I can't help but feel frustrated at my inability to function the way I could have before. I am suuuuuch a morning person. I love the feeling of being awake earlier and having more time to start your day. Having the time to feel prepared is invaluable. Last semester, I was consistently waking up at 7:30 am to go to the gym and lift heavy weights every single day. Now, I wake up when I should be out the door and I hate being late. But somehow it happens so often it affects my ability to perform well at work, thus affecting my coworkers and bosses—not to mention my own self-esteem.

So now what? Do I quit everything and allow myself to have a care-free semester and give up things that I love? In the past, I have always had to choose between something I did want and something I didn't want, or something I wanted but didn't need or something I didn't want, but needed. This decision isn't nearly as clear-cut. All of these jobs serve great purposes, but I love them all so much. Yet, I know I've spread myself too thin. I want to dedicate my time to the jobs I have had the longest to show my commitment to them, but I also wish I could just have one job so I can finally get the free time I feel like I both deserve and need to finish strong in my last semester. I know I would want to choose the CP one because it pays more and it will help me more with where I would like to go after I graduate, but my heart remains so loyal to my Peer Advisor position. In the end, only I can find the answers. Until then, I'll just keep running my options back and forth until I can justify my own peace of mind to myself.