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.