The psyche of the working girl is a very complex and intricate enigma, especially when you are working 40 hours a week. Our thoughts are preoccupied with the constant struggle between making ends financially meet and arranging time for school, family, friends, and sleep- if we even remember what that is to be honest. There is hardly any time to socialize when you’re continuously on your work and school grind.
Working a lot is great, don’t get me wrong. It’s an incredibly satisfying feeling to be self-sufficient when your full-fledged “adult” friends are asking their parents for their next ATM fix.
The downside, however, is that it takes a toll on you after a while. What people need to know is that we don’t work 40 hours a week for fun. I don’t wake up for school then work for eight hours just for my own amusement. I am but a poor college student trying to fund my existence. Work isn’t just another spare time activity, it’s a whole other life altogether. There are responsibilities, deadlines, corporate executives, and obligations we encounter that demand our full attention.
All of this means that we neither have the time nor the energy to respond to trivial texts, snapchats, and small talk altogether. Working full time and going to school full time does not present many opportunities to engage with phones. This doesn’t mean we’re ignoring people by any means, we just have more pressing things that demand our attention at the time. Personally, I do not have the capacity or patience to make small talk when I just don’t care for it.
“Hey”
“Hi”
“How are you?”
“Good, you?”
“Good.”
Honestly every aimless conversation ever. Who has the patience for that? I do not have time to sneeze let alone waste my time on that.
I adore my friends with my entire heart, but it’s hard to fit in monotonous commentary when there are five other different things demanding my attention at the same time. If people could be a little more patient with other’s busy schedules than it would relieve so much pressure and stress. We’ll get back to you eventually, pinky promise, but it might take a touch longer than the average person. Don’t be surprised if you get a reply at 3 A.M. since that’s when most workaholics have downtime. The nighttime is when we thrive.
What people need to understand is that working a lot means that it’s hard to drop everything on a whim and make last minute plans. Asking a day off at work is like sawing off an arm. Ask me at least two weeks in advance or my chances of being there are pretty much shot. People like to act like we’re blowing them off or making excuses, and that simply is not the case. Work takes up most of our free time, and if you’ve ever had a job, you understand how frustrating it is when someone tries to make plans with you the day of and you have to work. One time I had a friend ask me to go on a week long cruise five days before. They had such high hopes I could go and I laughed so hard I cried.
It’s hard balancing work and school. Maintaining a social life on top of that is rather tedious. Sacrificing free time to be able to afford tuition, groceries, and housing is just something that some people have to handle. If we take hours to respond, don’t take it personally, we’re probably just running around at work trying to keep the place from burning down. Â