Author: Bean Counter

College can be a stressful environment for a multitude of reasons. There is the stress that comes from how your class schedule is laid out, or course material you just cannot wrap your head around. Maybe your stressors come from the limited time you have once you’ve completed everything you needed to and before you know it the next wave of homework hits. For me, it most certainly comes from the time I lose between commuting and trying to get enough hours in at work to help pay the bills. I spend 10 hours of my week just driving to and from class and then another 20 hours working. When you combine this with what is expected for class work, I have little left of my week to spend on my own. This seemingly endless cycle could drive anyone crazy.

This is not to say that particular classes don’t add to my stress. I have course material that I just can not understand without diving in way deeper than other courses. For instance, I have a legal class this semester that has been driving me nuts! I feel that the readings and studying guides do so little for me because the definitions, and vocabulary have me feeling like I am trying to understand a foreign language. The professor does provide study guides, although they do not help me much. This, combined with very little prior knowledge or understanding of the legal system, has me always feeling uneasy and stressed about every assignment and test. Fortunately, the added studying helps me do well, but I wish I could do a better job controlling the urge to pull my hair out. I’m hoping courses like this are few and far between, or at the very least I can find a way to cope with this stress a little bit better.

Source: https://www.stress.org/workplace-stress

When I first attended college, I was younger and probably a little too immature. Like most college freshman, I had just graduated high school and was really excited for the opportunity to be on my own. One thing is for certain; I was not ready to handle that amount of responsibility and it took one semester to realize that. I didn’t return to school for another nine years, but it was the best decision I have ever made! Returning as an “Adult Student” has been an incredible experience for me. I started out earning some smaller technical degrees in areas of business I thought would be interesting, and I could make a career out of. I later came to the conclusion that what I really needed was a degree that could launch my career in a direction with more opportunity for growth.

That’s how I landed at UWGB and I am incredibly excited to be here. It has certainly been a little funny trying to fit in with younger students. It always makes me laugh a little in class when the professor assumes everyone graduated high school in the last year. I don’t mind it though because the students don’t treat me differently even when I surprise them with my age. I do feel envious of the students who are able to focus on studies and have a career path chosen. I hope they understand what a great trait that is to have, and how much that will benefit them in the future. To all the students that might relate more to my coming of age story, never give up even if that means taking a break and returning to college later.

30 Rock – NBC TV Show