The 9-6 Trap

Although my internship this summer isn't my first 9-5 (or 9-6) job that I've had, I'm finding the transition to adulthood a little more difficult than I had anticipated. I think us college students live in a bit of a bubble, separate from the "real world" between young adult and "grown up". I've had internships before in Columbus that, coupled with my classes, kept me busy from early in the morning to the middle of the afternoon. But I've found that over the past few weeks, it is all too easy to fall into the 9-5 trap.

Each morning I get up at 7, grab breakfast and a shower, and I'm out the door by 8:30. A short metro ride and I'm at work. Yadda yadda yadda, and by 6pm I'm back on the metro. I don't get back to my apartment until 6:30 and after I hit the gym, I'm finally ready to take a break around 8. Assuming I want to get a full 8 hours of sleep (which is rare), I should get to be by 11. That leaves 3 hours to do homework, catch up on the news of the day, hang out with friends/roommates, eat dinner, call my family, and do whatever else I want to do for fun (video games, reading, watch a movie, etc). Most days, I don't feel like doing anything but  sit on the couch or take a nap. Therein lies the trap.

This may seem like an insignificant observation to most people, but for me it is a harsh realization that adulthood has arrived. Millions of people (at least in this country) live this life every single weekday. I can't help but feel like I'm whining a bit here, considering I'm working a comfy "white collar" job with all of my survival necessities taken care of. I still feel, however, that I'm losing some degree of freedom that I didn't take full advantage of in high school. I remember spending summer night after summer night playing video games, or some equally unproductive thing, until the sun came up, without a care in the world. But now I find that I'm stressing over just finding 30 minutes to read a book or do my homework.

I can't imagine how I would manage my time if I had a girlfriend or a family or even a pet. I suppose adulthood is all about finding balance and sharing what little time you have with the people you love. I'm sure I'll figure it out soon enough, but for now, I'm just trying not to fall into that 9-6 trap.

- Cameron DeHart