Work- School- Life: The Balancing Act

The balancing of three worlds: work, school and life in general. All involve an enormous amount of effort and energy. As seen in Oppression to Grace edited by Theodorea Regina Berry and Nathalie Mizelle, many of the women struggled in balancing their families, especially as single mothers. In On Beauty by Zadie Smith, we see the opposite where academia meshes with their private lives creating an interesting world for their family. Personally, I believe keeping both worlds separate and balanced is important and a struggle. From my past experience, I have put school and building my resume first- not to an extreme point, but to the point where I ignored some responsibilities as the oldest daughter. Now, having just recently start over in college I have been able to put my family first then my academic career and have been a world more satisfied with myself creating a new perspective for myself.  Family has always been an important aspect in my life and I am glad to have been able to wage the war and finally put them first. Advancing my resume and such, affects their lives in some way such as in my ability to get scholarships, but their well-being is much more important.  As we have learned academia can come in all different ways such as traveling, life experience, and really, you only have one family and relationships that become easily less visible when losing sight of the bigger picture. In the end it all comes down to, "what brings me joy?" Here are different concepts and aspects our quartet and class has covered in regards to balancing work, school and life in general. 

"Maintaining the line between personal and private definitely takes self-discipline." -Izumi  

I can relate to Izumi, but also believe maintaining that line not only involves self- discipline, but much more reflection. With reflection you can see where you stand, how you feel, what you want and how you have to adjust to "find your joy." I have personally struggled with that balance. When stress overcomes me I tend to neglect my other responsibilities besides those that initially caused my stress. It does take a lot of meditating, self- discipline and reflection to remind me of what is important. Personally, "maintaining the line," between the two worlds would mean more of keeping out my academia life from my private life. My main extra-curricular activity is the Dream Project, so when I find myself struggling to deal with the stress of school while putting my family above all, I ask myself, "How can I be helping other students, when I'm not helping my own family?" That puts everything into priority for me.

"I'm not sure about the rest of you, but as an undergraduate working full-time it's difficult to even find a balance between work, school, and life (even worse to maintain it)." -Ajay 

I could never imagine working full-time and having anything close to balance in my life. I don't know how students do it and especially be involved in extra-curricular activities at the same time. The need to work full-time becomes more common as tuition rises and financial aid lessens. I wasn't planning on working during the school year, but from recent number estimations I know I'll be looking for a part time job after the summer. How are students expected to keep their grades up while working and building up their resume? Tuition increases, amp up the need for scholarships therefore also increasing the competition and need to balance these all, while having some hint of a life. I especially want to highlight in Ajay's comment, "even worse to maintain it." It is a constant balancing act, walking across the beam. You prioritize one more than another or more than usual and it throws off your whole act. 

"With only 24 hours in a day, the hours required by both work and school often come at the expense of extra-curricular education." -Ajay 

This all goes back to the pressures of building your resume and developing as a person through those activities, instead of just in the classroom, but how can you with only 24 hours in the day? There never seems to be enough hours in the day. Extra-curricular education does take the backseat when it comes to work and school. Without work how are you supposed to go to school if your funds are limited, especially with the budget cuts? How do you decide which extracurricular activities to cut when they are your true passions compared to work? The academy, work, and our personal lives not only include balancing, but sacrifice. 

"Something about his academic life had changed love for him, changed its nature" (225). -Zadie Smith, On Beauty

I understand Howard in the sense that the academic life changed him. High school did this to me in both positive and negative ways. I developed socially, learned how to manage my time and had the time of my life being involved in high school, but my personal relationships tended to be neglected in that balancing act. The nature of my role as the oldest sister and daughter changed. My sisters' expectations of me altered from asking me for help or to just listen to them to understanding that I wasn't really listening or that I wasn't going to do anything about it which is sad and I entirely regret. I wasn't a sister. My academic life was my life. I even told one friend of mine that I couldn't deal with the stress of school, ASB, National Honor Society and all that jazz with the drama of our friendship. My life was about building my resume, getting into colleges and building up my resume to get as many scholarships as I could. Yes I sacrificed and succeeded, but lost my joy along the way. What was first fun became dreadful at times. I never stopped and asked myself, "Are these my priorities?" or "Do I like who I am?" I believe I loved myself in the terms of my success, but not in the most important aspect of being the best person I could be. I do not understand Howard in terms of his mid-life crisis and various sexual relations, but I do understand losing yourself along the way.

"I had made someone else, but what about me? Had I made myself?” (161). - KaaVonia Hinston-Johnson, Choosing My Best Thing           

This past year of transitioning into college and having dealt with personal problems among my relationships has called me to step up and to be the older sister and good friend. Oh yes, there have been many sacrifices, but with those sacrifices and forced growth I believe I have come out a better person. In "making" others, I have found a joy that makes me. I think I rather have wanted to step up under different circumstances, but I am the most happiest with myself. I used to define myself in terms of success and how many goals I've checked off my lists- which definitely did make me happy, but now defining myself in terms of how I help my family and friends has fulfilled me in many more ways. Even with these positives, comes the struggle of deciding when I can put myself first, or naturally ask myself, "What am I doing for myself?" Despite the growth in myself, I ask myself that often. I can't even imagine the responsibility of a child, a career and myself. From all our readings and discussions, I give even more kudos to mothers.

"Academics in that sense are no different from the rest of working class citizens."- Izumi

Izumi said this in terms of childcare and the support given to those in academia compared to the rest of the "working class citizens." In terms of circumstances such as computes, I believe it trumps occupation. But in terms of occupation, I see academia more understanding with family priorities in the sense the student- teacher relationship is somewhat a reflection of the child-parent relationship. I plan is to remain in fields that involves education, but in terms of being a social worker, eventually a teacher and working in education policy. Specifically as a social worker, I believe the profession would be as understanding as education as both involves working with people and having empathy. 

"I think it’s all right for a work place to check a Facebook, but I do not think a work applicant should be discriminated against for this." - Izumi 

When I think of the work-school-life balancing act I see it more as a personal balancing act, and not so much the dynamics of those in my workplace being able to invade my private life. I understand the rights anyone, even work places have to check Facebook, but I do not agree with it being required to give access to your Facebook to be eligible for a job. I believe that crosses the line and discriminates as Izumi said. Facebook is a good indicator of the professionalism of a person, such as their profile picture, but I believe going through posts and such crosses the line of privacy. I would just ask those investigating employees' profiles, how would you feel if the same was done to you?
Knowing your workplace can access your Facebook at any time is like having a watchdog over you. I believe employees should be judged on their work habits and their credentials, not if they are in an off and on relationship and like to party with their friends.

"There are lots of things I use currently to help me keep going and have a good balance." -Melanie 

Melanie listed a good list of what she does for herself in finding her joy and balance. This included planning ahead of time, getting enough sleep and dividing chores in an effective way. I definitely do not plan as effectively with back-up jobs, but I do use goal lists all the time. My goal lists help filter out my mind and keep me focused on what is important to me. My room is also filled with quotes that give me strength and help remind me that I can make it through the day. My constantly up-dated goal lists are a way for me to reflect on my life, what I want and what is or is not working for me. Among my priorities are not only my family and grades, but joining a certain amount of activities or trying something new each quarter, working out and flossing regularly. They keep me on track. When I move back home for the summer, I plan on adding another sign in my room that asks, "What is my joy?" Constant reflection is necessary to make sure your balance is not off, and that you are where you want to be.


These quotes show the different aspects and perspectives that come to mind when it comes to the ultimate balancing act of work, school and life. With that balancing act our joy can lose its way off our list of priorities. Personally, balancing has been a struggle for me throughout high school and as I have seen priorities do change, but as I continue my journey through the academy I hope to keep in mind what I have learned in this class and to constantly keep the act of reflecting in my life.