Imagine waking up to your alarm as early as 6 in the morning, going to school and dealing with school work all day, leaving school, getting into your work clothes, and going right back to work without any breaks in between. Sounds exhausting right? Because it is, especially on kids.
James Jackson (11) works as a dishwasher at a restaurant, working doubles every weekend, and working days of the week, alongside going through a full school day. Jackson also has a liking for cooking.
“I’m in love with it. I like that you can make anything,” Jackson said.
Jackson has several things that he commits to ranging from work, after school activities, and school, all of this compiled on top of eachother makes Jackson feel trapped and drained.
“I have work on the weekends, and I have rehearsals, so I feel like I can’t really do anything,” Jackson said. “Having to wake up for school early after working makes me feel really tired.”
Having to go to school the day after a long shift most days. How can it ever be possible for a student to focus enough to understand a subject?
“It’s difficult in school learning a subject and not being able to do well on it because of my schedule,” Jackson said.
According to Malta Medical Journal, a majority of students, approaching 57%, have at least part time jobs, from 10 to 20 hours a week. This means that students are working at least two to three days a week on top of school. Students are either going straight from school to work, or working their only days off from the stress that comes with school.
Being young also has its disadvantages when it comes to having to juggle the two.
Challenges like picking up rides from people in order to get to work because some students may not have their own vehicles, spending the time that they have after school to catch up on all of the work they were assigned for the day after working late, feeling lazy for procrastinating school work, but really just mentally burnt out.
Employed students can even feel like they can’t enjoy being a kid anymore.
“The thing I would change about working and doing school is that I would wait until my senior year to work and enjoy the last bit of kid I have left in me,” Alexandra Malloy-Gonzalez (11) stated. “But working and doing school makes me feel stronger.”
Malloy-Gonzalez also says working and doing school can affect her life outside of school as well. “Doing both makes my home life harder,” she said.
In all reality, students are really just kids trying to better their future. Trying to scrape some money together to put towards bettering their lives, trying their best to get all of their work done at a decent time to keep their grades up, and still trying to be gentle with themselves. Having to do these things at one time and trying to do good at both takes a toll on a young person’s mental health.
