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Got time on your hands? Sell it to college students
By Stephanie Hebert
September 20, 2007 | Time. Time is one of those commodities
that as a kid you think you have so much of. How can
anyone fill an entire day let alone a week, month, or
year? Well, as a college student let me tell you there
is enough stuff that happens in one of my days I would
take the extra time those kids have and I could not
only fill it, but I could sell it.
Since I have started college I realized that college
students not only learn the material that will be on
their final exams but we learn how to budget our precious
seconds, minutes, hours, and days. Not only do we have
the all important studying that must be accomplished
to ensure passing grades so we can eventually graduate
into the world of working adults, but we have important
social engagements that enhance our psychological wellbeing
and prepare us for the world outside of college. Some
of the unlucky few of us also have to find time to work
so we can earn money to pay for the college or university
to fill our time.
Just coming back from summer vacation where time doesn't
slow down but fills with the activities of my own choosing
instead of homework, I resent the strict regime that
school imposes on me. The tasks that are assigned seem
never ending. When one is completed there is always
another one in the wings ready to take center stage
demanding your attention and time. I wonder sometimes
if the professors think that because we pay to go to
college we are willingly admitting that we don't want
a life outside of school. We not only love going to
school for however many hours a week to fill a schedule
required to call ourselves full or part time students,
but we love to spend our weekends, evenings, and holidays
reading, writing, or studying for the all important
grade.
Then there is work. To earn the other commodity that
college students need in order to pay for the college
or university to fill our time, money. It seems a catch
22 to me. During the school year you work to pay for
the things that you need and want and yet there is no
time for the things that you want. Sure there may be
the money to go see a movie, or go out to eat with your
friends, but there is no time. Most Friday nights are
spent getting ready for next week, doing laundry, or
in my case sleeping. When it comes down to it, if I
have to choose a movie, or sleep, I will stay home and
sleep because what is the point of going to a movie,
paying to get in, then falling asleep? Those chairs
are not comfortable enough for me to want to pay the
movie theater to let me sleep in them.
If we look at the breakdown of time, there are 168
hours in a seven day week. School takes up about 40-60
hours a week between class hours and studying. That
leaves you with about 108 hours left. Then if you have
work that takes up another 20-40 hours which now leaves
you with 68 hours left. Then you have the 8 hours a
night you are supposed to sleep, that takes up 42 hours
total so now we only have 26 hours left. In those hours
you need to find time to do your laundry, eat, and all
the errands that you mother used to do for you but since
you moved away to college you now have to do for yourself,
like groceries. Those errands plus the driving around
to get where you need to go to accomplish those errands
will on average take up about 3 hours a day, so that
amounts to 21 hours a week. So now all you have left
is 5 hours. In those 5 hours we are supposed to fit
our social engagements; the things that relieve stress
and rejuvenate our minds so we can be open to learning.
I know that I spend those 5 hours trying to stop my
head from spinning.
When I started college I was so excited to be on my
own to plan my days as I saw fit. My parents could no
longer tell me how spend my time but as I learned there
is always someone just around the bend who has a claim
to some of your time and you are paying for them to
lay claim to your time so you can't even complain about
it.
So all you kids out there that are bored and don't
know what to do with your time, sell it to college students.
We could use it.
NW
MS
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