With Thanksgiving break coming to a close*, the next break that college students can look forward to is Winter Break. The one-month-long break gives students the opportunity to destress from the first semester of stress and work. The only problem with winter break, at least in my eyes, is that college students go from a school-work-life balance to a home-work-life balance. To me, there is no destressing when being at home. College students have to work terrible holiday hours so that they can make money to come back to school while adjusting to living back at home and spending time with friends. It is very much manageable but after working hard through a 15-week semester and jobs at school, it is one of the last things that we as college students would like to do.
With the holiday season right around the corner, one thing that college students need the most is money. However, in 2023, inflation has increased prices of basic items causing college students to spend more money than they need to. Which in turn, forces them to have to work more to afford these things. As college students, we get one month of working at home to pay for Christmas gifts, gas, food, and other expenses, while supposedly “destressing” from the semester. Having unnecessary expenses as a college student is something that we cannot plan for. If I got a flat tire, I would have to spend at least $100 to get it fixed. That money was supposed to go towards buying my family Christmas gifts, so now I have to work more so that I can make that money back. But working 5-8 hour shifts five days a week is the opposite of destressing. My hometown job is a job in a mall. With the holiday season arriving, thinking about having to work in the mall during the holidays sounds awful. I have to deal with rude customers, learn all of the different sales going on in the store, and put on my customer service smile. These things drain my energy, which makes it hard for me to enjoy time with my family, friends, and myself.
I actually like my job back home, but I started over the summer, so knowing that I have to work in retail during the holiday season, makes me anxious, to say the least. There are some positive aspects of working in a mall like getting small discounts at a lot of the stores and getting free or cheaper food. These perks definitely make working at the mall better but with the number of people that are in the mall daily, trying to stay calm is a lot more difficult. With that being said, I love the holiday season. The decorations, the energy, the good time with family and friends, make working a lot through, worth it. I just wish college students received more credit for how hard they work while balancing being a young adult because it is hard to manage your life when you are in your 20s.
*(This was written during Thanksgiving break. - Nick Shelley)
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