I was a college student who was constantly busy with academic life and work. I was a full-time student, worked part-time at a retail store, and was also the president of a student organization. Despite my busy schedule, I felt fulfilled and enjoyed being involved in multiple activities. However, everything changed when I received an unexpected offer to intern at a prestigious company. At first, I was thrilled, and I thought that the internship would provide me with valuable experience and help me stand out after graduation. However, as soon as I started the internship, I realized that the demands of my new role were much greater than I had anticipated. I began to feel role ambiguity as I was unsure of my responsibilities and expectations at the internship. I did not know what tasks I should be working on and felt like I was constantly second-guessing myself. This added stress and confusion to my already busy schedule.
I also felt role strain in addition to role ambiguity. I had to work a lot of hours for the internship because it was so demanding, which left me with less time for my other duties. I had the impression that I was continuously juggling a number of tasks and was unable to give each one my all. Ultimately, I started to experience role conflict when my obligations as the president of my student organization, a student, and a worker at my part-time job started to collide. I struggled to balance the pressures of my many responsibilities and the feeling that I was failing everyone.
Despite these difficulties, I persisted in my efforts. I spoke with my mentor during the internship about my worries. I was able to better understand my mentor’s obligations and priorities with her assistance and better organize my workload. I also realized the value of self-care and made an effort to schedule time for it in order to prevent feeling overburdened. Ultimately, I was able to manage my various duties well and obtained important knowledge and abilities that aided me in my future job. I discovered that it is feasible to carry out numerous jobs and duties, but it’s crucial to establish boundaries and give priority to what matters most.