Being a parent is hard. Being a student is hard. Being a parent and a student is harder.
There are lots of advantages and disadvantages to being a parent and a student, but that does not take away from the significance of each role. Being a parent and a student, I have more challenges like leaving my son at home so I can come to school all day. When I get home I still have homework to do, but I also have to be a mom. I cannot leave my school work at school like some people can with work.
Another challenge is that I miss things. My son said the word “basketball” for the first time and I was not there to hear it. I even had to be at school on his birthday and I missed seeing him wake up.
Lots of times, I do not get to go to school functions or other activities because they do not align with my son’s schedule. In addition, I do not always relate to other students my age because I have a child and they do not.
There are advantages to being a student/parent, like getting a solid break from the chaos that is my toddler. I have made wonderful friends here who act as family for him and are willing to help me with him.
When I come home my son gets happy and his smile makes me happy. He also loves to “help” me with homework, which is mainly him bashing my keyboard while I encourage him.
Overall, the good about being a parent in school outweighs the bad and leads to an even better outcome when I am done with school and have my degree, I will be able to start a new chapter of life for the both of us.
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