How I Balance School, Work and Self-Care

Hi everybody! I’m Ellie and I’m a student here at Sheridan College(duh) for Illustration. I also work for the SSU (Sheridan Student Union) as a Marketing Street Team Leader, you’ll often see me handing out free popcorn and promoting events near the Tims at TRC. I thought it would be cool to share a glimpse of a day in the life of a student here. So here we go!

Because I have work at 9 for the SSU, I have to wake up at least before 8:15 am to make a decent breakfast and try to kinda unwind before my day starts. But because of this, I often get less than 6 hours of sleep a day and look like a raccoon on a daily basis. Anyone with 8 am classes can relate I feel you :’) Anyways I always start my mornings off with oatmeal topped with some sort of fruit and a protein bar because I need gains. I quickly put together an outfit and head to work.

I often get strange looks when I wear skirts in the dead of winter but I live in the residence attached to the school which is such a perk because I can literally wear anything without stepping a foot outside hehe. Sometimes I literally walk into the building in my pyjamas.

I arrived at work and I enjoy my shifts so much more now that me and my coworkers share the same shifts. Since Valentine’s Day was coming up, we decided to promote the SSU events and services by setting up a free DIY Valentine’s card booth. It was a big hit!

Peep my amazing co-worker Ruby :) My shift ended at 2:30 pm and I have a painting class at 3:00 pm. I was getting pretty hungry and didn't have time to go back to my dorm and cook so I decided to check out the caf. I ended up getting a burrito bowl and headed to the third floor with my bestie.

There was a cute Valentine’s Day cart set up filled with yummy-looking desserts at the caf that day. Yum! The third floor near the bookstore kinda became me and my friend’s hangout/study. It is almost always secluded simply because no one knows about it! It’s so nice because it has these huge comfy booths.

It also happen to be Club Fair that day, which the SSU was hosting (follow our socials @the_ssu to stay up to date) and I got this really cute free macaron from one of the clubs! It was really nice to see all the different clubs at Sheridan. I ended up joining two clubs haha. Afterwards, me and my friend headed to painting class trudging along with our heavy painting materials. You’re not an art student unless you carry around the same black portfolio case, newsprint rolls and a fat backpack probably packed with paint.

Class ended at 6:00 pm.

Me and my friend decided to head over to the Learning Commons to work on our other illustration assignments. We both agreed that working at school>working at home. Something about the Sheridan building helps me focus better and procrastinate less. Perhaps it’s the easily accessible snacks and vending machines lol.

Ended up finishing a personal Illustration. I find that keeping a balance between school art and nourishing the personal side of your art really motivates me to work hard on schoolwork too :)

At around 9:00 pm I returned to my dorm, tidied up my dorm common space and ate dinner while chatting with my lovely roommate. We discussed how underrated her Theatre Production program is. Her prop projects look so cool!

11:00 pm to 12/2:00 am is usually around the time I do my 30 minute skincare routine and relax which either means watching a show on Netflix or mindlessly scrolling on Instagram until I pass out haha. But don’t be like me and pass out. You should rest and ease into sleep :)

I ended up watching the new season of Ginny & Georgia and passed out at who knows what time.

This concludes my day in the life as a Sheridan Student Leader! I hope everyone has had a restful and fulfilling rest of the semester!