An honest look at how I'm doing

The most common question I get these days is, "How is school going." I'm glad to hear that question because it means you care. But, let's save us all some time and have me answer that question now. For the next 14 months, I'm always going to be overwhelmed, stressed, and tired. There, of course, will be great days mixed in there. I'll have moments of joy, days of feeling at peace, and restful nights of sleep. However, I feel like all those moments are built on a foundation of stressful exhaustion. Here is what my week looks like, and will look like, until I graduate:

Monday-Thursday: get up, do homework until 3 when I go to school, leave school at 8:30, study till 10:30, go to bed.
Friday: my day off! yay! Time to grocery shop, clean my apartment, see family, etc, and do 8 hours of homework.
Saturday-Sunday: every other weekend I'm off, and set a goal to do 8 hours of homework each day. On the weekends I work, I try to do 3-4 hours of homework before I go in at 1:30 and get off at 10:30.

Honestly, the thing that stresses me out the most is working. If I have a test on a Monday, I spend much of my time at work stressing over not studying for it. My job at the nursing home is physically, mentally and emotionally draining. Many of you could say the same thing about your job, I'm sure! I also have the added luxury of only being responsible for me. Unlike many of my classmates, I don't have kids to take care of, and goodness knows, being a parent is the hardest job on the planet. Children are a blessing, but right now, I'm really glad it's just me! And yet, my job stresses me out. School takes, on average, 65 hours of my week, and it's tough to put 18 hours of work on the weekends on top of that.

Frankly, I want to quit my job. I want to find something in Fridays where I can sit at a desk and file papers and answer phones and not think too hard. Anyone know of a job like that? Seriously, I'm looking.

Now that my pity party is done, here are a few praises and prayer requests:

Praises:
I'm doing well academically!
I'm able to help my classmates learn how to study and manage their time effectively.
I get a lot of joy from spending a few minutes a week with my nephews
Fall weather has finally arrived!

Prayer requests:
That God will open doors for me to find a low-stress job on Fridays so I can quit my current one.
I will remain disciplined in my studies. I'm so tired of memorizing!
My classmates and teachers don't know Jesus. Pray I'm a light in a dark place.


Thank you for your support and prayers!!!