Balancing: How Students Manage Sports, Jobs, and School
By Savannah Beutler
For many high school students, the day does not end at 3:20. Between sports, jobs, and school, it can be hard to balance, but some find it to be a part of their daily routine.
Students who play sports have practice after school that can often last for hours. Once that is over, some students either go straight to work or home to do homework. This can make nights very long and tiring.
“The hardest part about balancing everything I am involved with is making a conscious choice on what I am going to prioritize. Sometimes, I have to prioritize school when I'd rather go have fun with my friends. Sometimes being involved in multiple different things can be stressful and overwhelming. Often, sacrifices are made to keep up with all of the activities and relationships that I get to be a part of and have,” senior Emily Endorf comments.
Having a job while being in high school can be challenging as well. Many people work so they can earn money and gain more experience, but it can be difficult to balance work hours with homework and studying.
“Like most people, my schedule is rather full, when I add something else to it, like getting my masters, I have to prioritize what is most important and give up in some areas. For teaching, that means streamlining so that I can get as much work as I can done at school. For coaching, that means doing as much as I can while I am at practice. For parenting, I try hard not to sacrifice the limited time I have with my kids everyday, but some of the time I need to,” high school instructor Brock Bretschneider comments. “For my classes, I have worked hard to hone my speed reading skills so that I can read books faster and my writing skills so I can write papers faster. Overall though, all of this means I just sleep a lot less too. It is hard, if not impossible, to balance it all without giving up something somewhere, but I love what I do and I love that I have the opportunity to be tired from all the stuff I have.”
Although balancing work, sports, and school can be extremely stressful and difficult, it helps individuals develop responsibility and effective time management skills.
