Here's the latest in our new series of blogs by Glasgow students.
Amy McDonald is a journalism student at Glasgow Caledonian University, lover of rose wine and a bit of a drama queen.
Balancing coursework with a part-time job is not an easy task, especially when this ‘part-time’ job feels more like full-time employment.
Putting aside the piles of coursework that needed completed, I decided to use my “time off” from university in a more constructive way and pick up some extra shifts - a decision which I lived to regret.
Arriving at work in the bar one Saturday evening, I slammed my bag down and quickly hung up my coat to greet the many thirsty and impatient customers. “Two pints of Tennents hen!” a rather drunk male leaned in and yelled in my ear.
My head was spinning and my mind was on other things. I began to form a list in my head of all the things I would rather be doing. Sitting in front of the TV with a large glass of wine was number one. Hmm, I wonder how many episodes of Grey’s Anatomy I can watch in one night. Probably a full season if I put my mind to it. I jumped back to reality as the cold lager overflowed the glass and poured on to my hand. Come on, focus I murmured to myself.
I was eventually given some light relief when my friend started her shift. Working with your best friend has its advantages. She’s that one person I rely on to not beat around the bush and tell me when I’m doing something wrong.
Both of us stood behind the bar enjoying a well needed catch-up: “So I’m just so stressed out. I’ve got this psychology exam coming up in a couple of weeks; I have no idea what I’m doing!” The look of exasperation on my friend’s face said it all: “Plus, I’ve had absolutely no time to go get my eyebrows waxed and I can’t even bear to look in the mirror.”
Forget exams - her eyebrows looked awful. This was serious. Nevertheless I felt a wave of relief as I now knew I wasn’t the only student whose life was falling apart in front of her eyes.
Amid the moaning my boss interrupted the conversation: “Do you two want to start doing some work! Every time I look over you’re talking.” We both smiled politely and began collecting and washing glasses.
My belly filled with fire as what I really wanted to say was: “If you gave us more time off to socialise like normal friends then maybe we would do some work.” I figured that wasn’t a good idea as I planned on keeping my job at least until I graduated. Well, hopefully graduate.
Eventually another shift came to an end. As I walked to my car I knew I was going straight home to complete number one on my list. I could hear the glugging of the wine going into my glass already.
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