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Life

A Day in The Life of An Online Student (With A Part Time Internship) & Some Advice

Rebecca Carmeli-Peslak
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Purdue chapter.

Being an online student definitely has its challenges. I remind myself often that I am very lucky that I am able to stay home and stay safe. I am also so blessed that I love my home and my family and am safe while being surrounded by some of my favorite people. While I was concerned that it would be really hard on me, it has helped me better my mental health and sort of ground myself with hitting the reset button.

 

Every day I try to wake up between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. and get my day going from there. In the mornings (and if I get up early enough), I try to get in a quick workout. I always make sure to eat some breakfast because I totally lag by 11 a.m. I am starving by the time lunch comes around if I do not fuel my body.

 

After I get in my breakfast, I get to work, that being either work-work or schoolwork. I try to either split my days with half work and half school or spend a whole day focused on one or the other. Sometimes when work is very busy, I push back my schoolwork into the evenings, since it is easier to work during business hours for my job.

 

Currently, I am a Global Marketing Intern for a company that I love. I was lucky enough to spend two summers with them and now a fall semester. I am learning a lot and it is in my career area, so I am loving it. At first, I was nervous about the work/school balance, but it is proving to be very possible and a very good experience to better my time management skills. It is also working well, because my schoolwork gives me applicable and current practice for my work as well as my work gives me great experience so I can submit better schoolwork. The balance has been really going well.

 

The one thing that I did need to work on was setting boundaries with my school and work. I am a perfectionist and I like to get things done as soon as I get them. So, I had to work on myself by setting start times and end times and really sticking to them, so my workload was better balanced, and I had some time to relax.

 

During my school and work, I take a quick stop for lunch where I watch my guilty pleasure, Double Shot at Love. (Don’t judge. Pauly D. and Vinny get all my love.) Then, I get back to work for a few more hours.

 

Next, things get a little crazy. Every day between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m., I have to feed all my animals their dinners. Now, in the mornings, my parents are AMAZING, so they feed my animals in the morning. Every night I go out and feed my goats, sheep, rabbits, and chickens. We feed them, do their water, and put them away in their stalls or coop for the night. It is honestly the most relaxing part of my day. The animals are always so happy to see me, and they never bring any stress into my life. I find a lot of peace with them and it is one of my favorite parts of my day.

 

Once chores are done it is on to dinner, and I am a hug foodie (check out @beccas_good_eats on Instagram). One of my parents or I usually cook and then we sit around and watch some TV. I usually get some more work or school done before a little dessert and then heading off to bed.

 

Overall, my days have a lot of routine which is really good for me and my focus. I feel like I have less stressors being at home than when I am at school. This time has allowed me to focus more on what I love to do and less on the drama of the world and my world. I miss my friends so much, but I know I made the right decision for myself.

 

And now you know what a day in the life is like for me!

Hi! My name is Rebecca Carmeli-Peslak. I am currently a senior at Purdue University majoring in Agricultural Communications. I am from New Jersey and enjoy spending time at the beach, cooking, baking, and with my friends. Currently, I am the Vice President of Administration for Delta Delta Delta, a Peer Mentor for the DRC, a Sighted Guide for the visually impaired through the DRC and a volunteer for Almost Home Humane Society. This semester, I am so excited to be a Campus Correspondent for Her Campus and cannot wait to see how Leslie and I work together to better the chapter!