A busy life is no easy task, but it is no challenge for senior Daniel Sandoval.
Sandoval has to handle being an athlete, an employee, and a senior at high school all at the same time. Sandoval is a three-sport athlete, playing football, basketball, and track and field. This means he has no offseason and plays year-round with no break. But Sandoval enjoys having a busy day, as he believes his day is well-spent. “It’s nice knowing like at the end of the day you can lay on your bed knowing that you didn’t waste a full day,” Sandoval said.
Sandoval works at the Dairy Queen on Center Place. He is in the kitchen and occasionally makes ice cream as well. Sandoval works an average of 20 hours a week, which includes days when he has practice. Typically he begins his shift after practice, which ends around 6:00 p.m. He works until they close, which is around 10 p.m. He’s always prepared as he keeps his work clothes in his car. “I keep my work clothes on me so after practice, I go straight to work,” Sandoval said.
Even though this might seem like a hard lifestyle, you can learn something from this. Sandoval has learned how to time manage, a key life skill to know how to do after high school. He knows that spending a lot of time on only one thing will not get anything accomplished, so he has learned how to divide his day so he can get the most out of it. After school is typically when he gets his homework done, so after he gets out of work he doesn’t have to worry about it. “Learning time management skills, because if you spend too much time on one thing you do not have enough time for another,” Sandoval said.
For Sandoval, a downside of having a busy schedule is he only gets a little time for himself. No matter Sandoval always puts school first. Sandoval understands that other people might be living the same life but might be struggling, but he recommends keeping their heads up even through stressful times, as it will all be worth it in the end. “Just gotta keep pushing because every day is going to be like that, but you got to keep pushing knowing that there’s going to be light at the end of the tunnel,” Sandoval said.
