By Amber Charleville
After a long weekend of studying, a brutal test on Monday, and coming down with a nasty cold this week, I’m reminded of just how tough college life can be. You have classes, for which you need time to do homework and studying on top of physical hours spent in the classroom. Then there are work obligations, responsibilities to school organizations, and on top of all that, somehow you have to find time to spend with your friends, family, and significant other (some of whom may not understand why school takes up such a large chunk of your time these days).
Truthfully, I wonder how any of us manage it! One thing I know for sure, though, is that it’s just about impossible without a solid support system. Not just any support system, either. We need one that understands if you have to spend a whole weekend at the library or that your idea of a good time these days is grabbing a power nap or finding a quiet place for studying.
That’s one of the reasons I’m so happy to be working at the Women’s Center this semester. I know it’s a privilege to have a job that understands the demands of school, one that doesn’t expect me to show up to the office when I’m sick, but it’s more than that. I work with an amazing group of women who are supportive of creative thinking, who want to make a difference in the lives of women, who aim to make the trials of the college experience that much easier for everyone on campus.
So, if you’re having a week like mine and you just need someone to talk to or even a nice, cool place to get away from the heat and the stress of the day, I can’t recommend the Women’s Center here at UMKC highly enough. You’d be surprised how much better the week can look after getting even fifteen minutes to decompress and vent to people who not only get it, but also genuinely care.