What do you think about it? Do you think it is important? Do you have that 'balance' in your life?
Before I got admission into a higher institution, I was working as a janitor in one of the prestigious boarding schools we have in my state. The pay was good, and the management was also good and considerate with and to their staff. Every year, there was always a salary increment, we still always got paid when the school goes for school after the resumption of school although half payment and whenever most students had to stay back during the holiday for exams or whatever, our salary was always doubled, they had staff quarter and that made many staff stayed for years.
When I got my admission letter, I thought about deferring my admission, because of the pay and because my work needed me from the early hours of 8 am till 2 pm but I was sure of something, if I decided to defer the admission at that moment, I am not sure I would want to start ever again. Since it wasn't a part-time schooling, I will need to constantly be in school especially as a new student, to get acquainted with everything going on in the school.
Well, I told the management about my admission and they accepted, told my friends about deferring my admission and so many of them kicked against it because they no me too well. So, after much consideration, I decided to accept my fate and see what will come out of it. So, I took permission few days to go to school for the necessary signing after resuming work but one day, the management called and said that since my job was mostly in the morning and as a new student, most of my classes would likely be in the early hours of the morning, it would be wrong for me to miss classes just because of work, so they would advise me to quit and concentrate in school first.
I understood their point and even though I wanted to argue, I knew it was pointless because they wouldn't want me to miss class just because of work and they wouldn't want their job to suffer because I was schooling too, I wouldn't want any of that too because I loved my job as much as I was happy I got the admission. So, I wrote in my resignation and started schooling fully. Ever since then, I have not been able to get hold of jobs especially part-time that allow me to go to school and work later in the day depending on their schedule. It has been a tough one on my part and frustrating too.
With our current situation especially in my country, to be able to stay afloat and not get drowned in the economy, everyone needs a balance in their life, they may not be able to figure it out all at once but having a balance in their work, personal, social, family and maybe school life is the best thing one can do for him or herself as daily, the weight is becoming too much, so there is need for adjustment.
Having balance in one's life is as important as the food and water we drink every day, it helps one meet and attain their specific goals daily, weekly, monthly, or even yearly, and it helps one have room for rest and critical thinking on the next step to take and it is the best thing one can do at this moment.
When I tell people I need a job, as a student, I get a lot of "How are you going to cope as a student?" questions and I tell people, that situations call for adjustment, situations call for adapting, and stretching because I know I would always find a way to make sure I have a balance in my school and with my work so one of them or none of them suffer.
Although I still struggle, but yeah, I always try as much as I can to have balance in my life, so I have room for another aspect of my life. I wouldn't want to be found wanting or lacking in other areas of my life. Having balance in one's life isn't just important, it is necessary as well.
This is my entry to [Writing Contest] Work-Life Balance
Thank you for reading!!!
