Happy fall semester, everyone! In honor of starting the college grind, I interviewed my superhero best friend Taylor, who has absolutely mastered the hustle. This girl works a part-time and a full-time job while being a full-time online student at Florida Atlantic University (FAU). She is the ultimate girl boss. Here is how she does it all to succeed in the best way she can. I call her Queen Tay for a reason!
Her Campus (HC): How many classes do you have? How many hours in a week do you work?
Taylor Yon (TY): I am taking five classes, and I work about 60 hours a week.
HC: Is there a balance between the time you spend on school and at work? If there is an imbalance, which one gets more of your time? How do you feel about it?
TY: I try to spend an equal amount of time on both. I work a lot more than I study or do my homework, but I still get all my assignments done on time. I am okay with the number of hours I work because I don’t have 60 hours of schoolwork each week.
HC: What strategies do you use to manage your time? What do you do to make sure your grades don’t suffer? How do you stay engaged with school?
TY: I write all my assignments and due dates in my planner. I take it with me everywhere, and I write everything I do in it. I go home from work and do all my assignments when I don’t work my second job. Then, when I work my second job at night, I don’t have to stress about studying or doing any assignments. I force myself to get it all done early because I won’t have time otherwise and would fail.
HC: Does work get in the way of school, or does school get in the way of work? How do you recover from missteps or mistakes made when trying to juggle so much at once?
TY: I used to procrastinate a lot, and my grades would take a hit because I wouldn’t have any physical time to do my work. I just had to start forcing myself to do it on the few nights when I am available, or it wouldn’t get done.
HC: How does your schedule affect your mental health? What do you do to stay positive? Do you still make time for yourself and your hobbies? Is this schedule fulfilling in any way? Or is it more draining?
TY: It definitely affects my mental health. I have no time to do anything else like go out with friends or have any hobbies. I don’t have a choice, so I can’t do anything about that. I want an education, a degree and a career, so I have to make the sacrifice. It is fulfilling because I am working towards my goals, and I am in charge of my future. I don’t need to rely on my parents to pay for anything because I am doing it myself, which is the most empowering thing about doing this. It is very draining, but in the end, it will be worth it.
HC: Do you ever feel like you’re losing yourself to your schedule? What do you do to ground yourself?
TY: I don’t feel like I am losing myself because this is all I’ve ever known. I was never given any money from my parents for anything at all. I worked for everything, so this is all I have. I just have to remember that this is what I want, and I can’t give up—I can’t fail myself.
HC: Do your friendships suffer? How do you maintain them with such limited free time?
TY: All my friends are away at school, so I don’t see them during the school year unless they come home. It’s hard when they do come back because I barely have any time to see them, and most of them don’t understand that. They think that I am choosing not to make time for them when in reality, I don’t have time to make. Their parents pay for all of their college expenses, so they don’t understand my responsibilities. I just have to remember that I have no choice, and they need to be more accepting of that.
HC: What advice would you give to someone who is starting this double full-time schedule? What advice would you give to your past self when you started this schedule?
TY: I would definitely say to be very on top of your due dates and don’t procrastinate. You physically cannot procrastinate if you want to succeed in school doing this. I would tell myself to take it a day at a time and work as hard as I can because this is my future, and I am the only one who can make or break it.
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