Growing up, all I ever wanted was my independence, especially since I come from a strict household and never felt as if I truly had the right to live my life the way I wanted to. I worked so hard in finding any way necessary to get to not only a good college but one that would have a large amount of distance between my family and I. My family was never rich; I wouldn’t say we were poor, but we definitely don’t have it in a way where they can be financially stable or support me while I’m down here in Berkeley.
So for me, it’s not an option to just be a student and focus on my studies. Yes, financial aid helps, but, to be honest, it’s not enough. After talking to many students, I’ve found that it’ll cover about 50-70% of your needs, but those leftover percentages turn into a lot of money, especially in this economy. Inflation has made it twice as hard to save these days. Imagine how difficult it must be when now work-study isn’t even enough to cover housing or leftover student fees. Now, even the loans aren’t enough to cover rent for a full semester because of the housing crisis and the “supply and demand” state of the economy.
I quit my part-time job over the summer because I wanted to take time to focus on my mental health and my family. Plus, they were poorly managed and didn’t give me enough hours. But after working for 10 months while attending Cal, I had to sacrifice a lot to keep making money.
My grades ended up slipping, my mental health decreased, and I couldn’t even make time to start going to therapy again. However, in making that decision over the summer, I put myself in $5000 worth of credit card debt just trying to survive. Now, I find myself working 30+ hours a week trying to pay it off and build up my credit score. It’s extremely hard on my physical and mental health working full-time and being a full-time student.
I gave up a lot my first year to be financially stable. I couldn’t really join a lot of clubs and participate in the way I wanted. I want to be involved at UC Berkeley. I want to contribute and make a difference here, but I feel as if time doesn’t allow me to do so.
I decided to write this article because this isn’t mentioned enough in today’s world because of how it was getting better over the last few years, but now it’s like we’ve taken 10 steps back. My advice to anyone reading this article is to recognize that giving up isn’t the answer, and sharing what’s going on with you is the best way to get through this.
- Request that extension if you need it
- Follow up with those late policies
- A day off should not be consumed with stuff you want to catch up on, 40 percent of that time is for YOU
- Talk to someone when you feel like you can’t handle it (It’s OK to lean on people at times)