College is the place to learn to be self-dependent. Those who live with minimal support, or none at all, from parents or relatives survive better post-campus than those who never wean themselves off the tutelage of parents. It is not as hard as it sounds. The trick is to minimise your dependency gradually until you are fully independent. In fact, in olden days, students would use their Helb loans to build back at home and support their siblings. But Helb loans nowadays are hard to come by and when they do, they hardly last a week. The cost of living is high and the appetite for partying even higher.
No doubt, there are fewer options of making an extra coin while in campus. In developed countries, it is not uncommon for students to work in restaurants as waiters or in libraries to make that extra buck. We don’t have as many such options but in my experience as a student, it is always those who look who get opportunities.
As a student,my peers and I would get paid for participating in focus group discussions. We dabbled in student politics, worked as research assistants, and wrote articles for dailies. Anytime it was a low season for research I turned to writing and when writing was not working, we turned to campus or national politics and there was always money. Many people shy away from the kind of jobs that are available. But these ‘small’ jobs gave us the confidence to conquer the world once we graduated. Remember, it is not easy after graduation. Dropping CVs and waiting for interviews can be disappointing. No job is too shameful or too small if you are earning an honest buck. The opposite is true, it is the mark of independence that will stand you in good stead after campus.