Balancing a home and work life is tough. Add in a college career, and it can be downright impossible.  As a CCE student, I can ascertain that it is not impossible. Although I must admit the struggle is real.

Just a few weeks away from this semester’s end, which also just so happens to be my very last semester before earning my degree in English, I find myself reflecting on how I successfully arrived at this juncture.

Holding down a full-time job and commuting were the two biggest impediments I have had to face while being a student at Guilford. I negotiated with my boss for time off in order to attend classes that are only offered during the day.

The day classes that I am lucky enough to convince my boss to allow me to attend begins with me leaving work, then going to campus, attending class, leaving campus and going back to work again. I practically had to beg in order to get him to agree to this arrangement.

Often, I found myself checking my bank account with the hopes that I would be able to get groceries, as well as put enough gas in my vehicle to get back and forth to campus, work and home. All these challenging obstacles, yet somehow I made it through.

My days begin at 5:30 a.m. I get my family up, cook breakfast for them and out the door they go. Then I get myself ready for work and school. Another day of being off campus, missing campus events and feeling disconnected from student life.

At work I am usually daydreaming about an assignment or presentation that is due, or I’m busying myself utilizing my employer’s computer to compose a research paper that is probably due that very day.

I am a U.S. Navy veteran, and I pride myself on my great affinity for having a high level of attention to detail, when it comes to, well, everything. Somehow I have often seemed to forget important deadlines, both work and school-related. I hate to admit it, but there have been a few instances where I failed to do an assignment altogether. Still, by some means, I have managed to do enough damage control in order to maintain an overall GPA of 3.0 or above my entire academic career.

As far as my children go, there are numerous events, shows, parent-teacher conferences and the like that I just flat out could not fit into my schedule. There was always a looming deadline I had to adhere to as it pertained to my own course education.

So, let us recap for a moment. Fantasizing on the job about school work, all while not getting any work done that I am being paid to do. Missing most of my children’s activities of every variety. Also, I failed to mention the lack of attention my poor husband experienced throughout the years.

I am not putting all of this out there to complain or to gloat over how I am able to accomplish the seemingly unaccomplishable. I am simply putting the word out that, yes, it is difficult to be a CCE student. It is difficult enough being a student regardless, yet with determination, tenacity and dedication, it can be done.

Remember why you are there in the first place, practice having a stern bout of tunnel vision and with those, any educational goal you have set for yourself is accomplishable.