Commentary by Rochelle Day

Right now, I can tell you that non-traditional students have one word on their minds … balance!

How do you balance school, working [part or full-time,] personal relationships, children, housework, homework and still take a moment for yourself?

It’s not easy – and with the semester just starting, one can only pray that an efficient routine develops quickly.

Non-traditional students, loosely characterized as those who didn’t attend college right out of high school, constantly wrestle with this balance. It’s not that traditional students don’t deal with similar issues, for it’s evident in hallway and classroom conversations that you do. However, issues that non-traditional students simply have more weights to balance on each side of the scale.

What is this balanced routine? It’s stuffing 36 hours worth of responsibilities into a 24-hour period. As much as I’d like to modify the space time continuum in my favor, or philosophize that time is simply a state of being and really doesn’t exist, time is my enemy which I simply cannot confront. Non-traditional students hoard each hour of the day; planning, scheduling and morphing each hour into some form of multitasked activity. Am I the only one who tries to read the textbook while ironing or doing laundry? Do you read while sitting at your child’s football or soccer game, and then feel guilty when you should have been watching them instead? Have you ever said to the well-intending love of your life, “Not tonight dear, I have an accounting exam?”

A balanced life is not for the weak at heart, it is a process of give and take, stretch and pull, break and mend; a tumultuous relationship between you and everything else that’s important in your life. I guarantee you’ll make poor choices that will cause the scales to tip and weights to fall off. You’ll offend hurt the very people who support you, and then rake yourself over the coals of guilt trying to undo the pain you’ve inflicted, and yet still be prepared for your next class. Your mental health will be tested, as you devise ways to handle stress and disappointment, without slipping into a well of depression. Plus your physical health will be tried – just how much sleep can you do without and still commute safely home, avoiding wildlife who sole purpose is to run in front of your car, as you leave your evening class?

Over the next few months I’ll be introducing you to several extraordinary students who have found balance and have overcome challenges, changed careers [by force or choice], including those who’ve decided now was their time. They’ll share how they’ve fought and struggled their way through this balancing process in order to improve the lives of their family and to better themselves. My hope is that we’ll all learn from their mistakes and incorporate their tried and tested strategies to succeed into our lives. If you’re a recent high school graduate – I sincerely applaud your efforts in seizing this time and opportunity to focus on your education without familial responsibilities or competing social obligations. But if you’ve been out of school for a while and are struggling with the challenges of academia and college culture – you’re not alone.

There are over 780 of ‘us’ out there this semester who are in the same boat – all trying to find this balance in our lives. Find hope and inspiration in the non-traditional lives of your fellow students, and see that although our hurdles may be different from the traditional student, we’re more alike than not.