Funnily enough, my last essay was titled “Third Time’s the Charm”. It, evidently, was not. Much of the couple of years behind me was undoubtedly a couple of the worst years I’ve lived through; behind me is where they will stay. After experiencing all 5 stages of grief along with a couple more bonus ones, I’ve entered this semester with hope. It wasn’t easy restructuring what little pieces I had left – I am still in the process of testing what works best – but it was a much needed turn around. This semester, I’m hoping to be able to complete this course now that my schedule has been changed to reflect my courseload.
Falling off track is real easy; easier than you’d expect. Say yes to a few extra shifts and miss a couple days of homework and suddenly you start barrelling towards certain failure. I took this course mostly because it was a required course, however I also looked forward to the experience especially after learning that we would build a professional portfolio. I still enjoy what is taught in the course, this time done correctly. While my career goals don’t exactly align with software engineering, the knowledge gleaned is certainly a stepping stool into the next stage.
Coming out from many failures, my schedule was finally set in a way that can facilitate my work and school. Cutting down on hours (and getting a better paying job) helped free up time that I’ve never had before. Being able to dedicate more hours to my schoolwork has (shockingly) made managing my courseload easier. I still have some bad habits to unlearn, however, I am confident that this semester will go well. I even lowered the number of credit hours in my schedule; 18-20 was incompatible with my balance. Having experienced the business end of a stick one too many times, I’ve been able to firsthand understand the “consequences of poor prioritization”. Needless to say, I’ve learned enough from it all to take everything much more seriously. It is my money being spent to be here, after all.