As an International student at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, navigating academic stress was hard, on top of that I am also working four jobs, specifically at the Melt lab, the Marketplace, the Weidner Center and a job as a Resident Mentor. One of the biggest struggles for me is time management. Balancing my academic responsibilities with four different jobs requires careful planning and organization. I often find myself prioritizing tasks such as work schedules and club activities , and find it hard to allocate time for studying considering that I’d have to take a time out of my eighteen credit, and activity loaded schedule and journal how my week would go. All of this is hard to manage, especially when midterms and finals exam come. I feel anxious and pressured to excel academically while also maintaining a steady income through my jobs and at this point it just feels mentally and emotionally taxing.
In addition to time management and workload I also worry a lot about my VISA restrictions. As an International Student, there are a lot of rules in place for students, such as not being able to work off campus which inhibits us to get experience that is especially beneficial when applying to jobs after graduation. On top of these restrictions, there are times when I just miss my family. Coming to a foreign country that is from a whole different continent, I am forty-eight hours away- plane-ride wise, and thirteen hours ahead – time-wise, which is hard to navigate because my free time would equate to their sleeping time. Although I can confidently say that I’ve fairly adjusted to Wisconsin, and the campus, oftentimes, I just miss home – the warm weather, speaking a language without translating everything in my head, and having a nice, warm, home-cooked dinner with my family.