Brandy Ball

By Taylor Childress

Brandy Ball from Jefferson, a junior at Stephen F. Austin. She shared some interesting facts about herself. One of the interesting things about Brandy is that she commutes from two hours away every day. She began doing the commuting during this summer. This semester Brandy has classes at 9 and 9:30 a.m. which means she has to get up early to get to class on time. A typical day would be getting up at probably 6 a.m., driving to class, driving the two hours back home, then going to work.

Rest is not an option for Brandy. ”The hardest thing about the commute is the rest. Having to get up and drive the distance that early of a time and being tired isn’t an option,” said Brandy.

One of the biggest problems besides the rest with commuting is the gas. Brandy spends about $150 a week on gas when she commutes. But it doesn’t really bother her because she doesn’t want to live in Nacogdoches. She has already lived in a small town before, so moving to another small town would not be fun for her at all. She would rather live in a town a few hours a way than pay for a place to stay where she doesn’t really want to live.

After she graduates Brandy wants to move to Shreveport, Louisiana to get a steady job and get the feel of the work force with the major that she has chosen. She would rather live there where she can start her life then here where she can commute. She has also commuted to Louisiana this past summer for her internship. Commuting is not something new for Brandy, and she is very used to it.

Brandy is studying public relations and broadcasting at Stephen F. Austin. After school is all done with she wants to move to Atlanta to pursue her career. Living at home for Brandy is much more easier and sufficient for her life right now. She doesn’t see commuting as a really big issue because she has family and friends back home as well as her job. But when she comes straight from school she goes right back to work. That leaves Brandy no time for rest at all between school, school work, driving the two long hours back and fourth, and working right after that. Brandy said moving to Nacogdoches really isn’t an option for her. She has to deal with this transition because it is what she wants to do.

Most of her family has their master’s and bachelor’s degrees and she is the last person to get this. “Education is a number one priority in my family. So I don’t have time to complain about tiredness, I just have to get it done,” Brandy said. With the busy life she has, the education she wants is much more important than anything else.

Brandy no time to sleep but is still on top of her studies. It shows a lot of people that managing schoolwork, life, and a job all in a day is possible. It is very hard for her at sometimes because college itself can be hard and she doesn’t have time to sleep but she gets it done somehow, and she is still getting all the rest of her stuff done as well.