A Travelogue by Mark Sheats

Here is another entry in the series, “A Day in the Life of My Readers…” I asked my brother, Joshua, to write about a day in his life before he finishes college. This isn’t a blow by blow account like Eleanor’s, but it does serve to give us a glimpse into his life as he’s finishing up school. Enjoy.

-MS
.
.

Approximately 10 months ago, I made a decision to commit myself to several personal goals. These goals have influenced every single day of my life since then. Mainly, I decided that I was going to finish my university degree and pay off every bit of personal debt I’ve accumulated by the time I finished school. I’m now two weeks from graduation and I will be writing a check this coming Friday to pay off all of my student loans.

In order to accomplish this, I decided that I would be working and going to school at the same time. Many people don’t think this can be done, and yet I’m sure there are thousands of people who think quite differently (who do it every day). Now that I’m one of them, I’m here to tell you it can be done and is more feasible than you might think. I’ve not found it too difficult to juggle a 40-hour work schedule and a 19-hour class schedule–it simply takes dedication and motivation.

I’m generally up by 7:15-7:30 in order to shower and have breakfast before my 8:00 class. I always have 8:00 classes, in spite of the advice that every college student will give you! 8:00 classes are useful for getting an early start on the day. This semester, one of my 8:00 classes has been Information Systems for Business–a basic computer science course with exposure to various computer applications (which are, of course, all PC-based…ugh!).

Three days a week, I have gone directly to work and am at the office between 9:00 and 10:15, depending on that day’s schedule. (I’m merging several months into generalities to give you a better overall flavor.)

I usually work a normal business day, from 9 till 5. I’m blessed to have a job which I consider to be a “college job,” a job which is relatively mechanical so that I can “show up, do my work, and head home.” This has been a blessing, because I don’t think I’m capable of thinking non-stop. It’s quite draining. While at work, I will usually simply take ten minutes and eat at my desk, rather than taking the time to go out.

After work, I generally head straight back to school for a 6:00 class which lasts till 8:30. These courses meet one night per week, and I sometimes have two or three of them. This semester, I have had a “Lifetime Fitness” class–yes, it’s basically P.E. and I could have/should have taken it my freshman year–and a course called Business Strategies which is a capstone, senior-level course designed to integrate all the learning from the past 3 1/2 years.

After I get out of class, I will usually have some dinner and start on homework. I try to get as much homework as possible done on the weekend prior to its due date, but sometimes it’s not possible to finish it all. If I don’t do it over the weekend, I’m “sunk.” Often, I’ll end up doing homework until 1:00 or 2:00 in the morning; the problem is that this makes it extremely difficult to get up the next day for the 8:00 class.

Two days a week (Tuesdays and Thursdays), I have a full course load–generally 3-4 classes throughout the day. This semester they’ve been: Art Appreciation, Physical Science (and lab), International Business Project, and Regional Business Environments. It has often worked out well to take some intense international business courses and some basic freshman courses such as science and art. This semester, I’m not working those days; last semester, I would go to the office at 2:00 and work till 8:00 or 9:00 at night.

Right now, I’m facing the end of the semester. The biggest challenge I have are a number of group projects. It’s not that these group projects are difficult, they’re simply time consuming and it’s hard to schedule an opportune time for everyone to come together as everybody has a busy life. I’ve got five group projects/presentations which are due in the coming week; also, I have to get ready for finals, the following week.

I’ve learned a lot over this past year. I’ve learned the power of a clear and defined goal. I’ve also learned the power of focus. You might be wondering about my grades with all this work–they’ve never been better. Literally. My grades are higher than they were when all I did was take classes.

I’m know my “day” isn’t very interesting with the intimate, minute-by-minute details. That’s because the reality of it isn’t all that “fun”–but it’s worth it. You’ve got to push through a few difficult times if you want to get abnormal results. As a friend of mine says, “live like no one else, so later, you can live like no one else.”

And now, as I said, I have papers and presentations due next week. It’s time for me to get busy. If you want to find out about a “day in my life,” ask me when I have time to tell you about it!

Joshua