Jayme Hoy is a senior at Miami (OH) University in Oxford, Ohio.  An active member of Campus Activities Council, Chi Omega Sorority, and student manager of all campus tour guides on campus, Jayme has built her own life at Miami while being over 2,000 miles from home.  Tag along as we follow her journey throughout her Senior Year.

Although I probably say this every semester, I don’t know that I have ever felt such a heavy load on my shoulders as I have this semester. Maybe it’s the expectation that senior year is supposed to be easier, the confidence in my ability to always somehow get everything done, or maybe I’m just burned out.  All I know for sure is that I am exhausted.

For one, the job search feels like an extra class…at least. No one warned me how much extra time I would dedicate to writing cover letters, emailing back and forth with recruiters, sending thank-you notes, researching companies, and actually physically going to interviews. Later this month, I am actually missing four straight days of classes for interviews in other cities. (On that note, although I’ve worked it out with my professor, I’ve actually missed on of my classes so many times I technically should be failing.)

Something else I’m struggling with is trying to achieve a work-life balance. Not only do I have four relatively tough classes, two on-campus jobs, and two time-consuming extra curricular activities, but I’m also trying to maintain a social life on campus and maintain my relationships with friends who graduated last year. Six of the past seven weekends I have had visitors in town for three-day weekends or been traveling to visit friends. The weight of having no downtime during the weekends and hectically trying to finish all my work during the week is starting to become too much.

Although I know that I am always able to somehow finish my work, it has become absolutely exhausting trying to do everything day-by-day rather than ever being able to catch up or even get ahead. All I can do at this point is try to get as much sleep as possible and eat right, because I’m worried I’m headed towards the path of getting sick. Although I am stressed beyond belief right now, I still have confidence that, after three years of college, I know that I have set a high standard for myself that I will not fair to meet, and I know that I have always done my best and it has always ended up working out for the best.