“Balancing work and study sounded like nothing until both started doing combo on you”
Between the non-stop calls from hungry customers and getting chased by the “deadline demon” somehow I find time to get my hands on my precious camera.
Life In The Takeaway
Working in a takeaway shop while trying to do some assignment doesn’t sound exactly like a pretty plan, one minute, I am handing out prawn crackers to customers the next second you see me tapping on my laptop with my greasy fingers and dropping curry sauce on my notes, balancing work with study for a full-time university student feels like juggling chopsticks-messy, awkward but sometimes impressive and surprised how I manage to make it somehow I get this rewarding feeling?
In this blog, I’ll share how I cope with the chaos of work and university, along with general photography tips, and how I still manage to smile at that one customer who orders two banquets at closing time-no extra pay or tips 🙁
Finally Have Money But At What Cost
While earning money 6 days a week gives me a pretty decent budget to spend, however, free time isn’t really on my side, no free time to spend on socialising, or travelling, but in ROBUX!! It created distances with all my friends, multiple times I got invited to parties and hangouts but I always pulled the same lame answer “Sorry bro, finishing at 22:30 today” Eventually each and everyone stopped inviting me, while I was earning money, I am missing out in creating core memories. Working non-stop might boost your wallet, but for sure it starve your social life.
Burnout Is Real
A lot of the time, I come home from work so tired I just sit there, staring at my laptop, clicking random spots on the desktop like I’m unlocking a secret level of procrastination.
I physically want to open that assignment document, but mentally, it’s like my hands are rebelling. Next thing I know, it’s 5 a.m. and I’m still looking for sources and references I probably won’t use. This phenomenon actually has a name: task paralysis. It’s when your brain taps out even though your to-do list is screaming.
Burnout isn’t just being tired, it’s that deep-fried feeling where your brain feels like it’s been tossed in the deep frier along with the spring rolls. I’ve genuinely considered submitting a takeaway receipt instead of an actual assignment, just to see if my lecturer would notice.
Trying to balance takeaway shifts and Uni life is physically draining and mentally numbing. But what keeps me going is knowing I’m not the only one in this mess. There are loads of people out there on the same boat with half a paddle.
Eventually, I stopped pretending I could “power through” everything and started taking proper breaks. I even picked up photography again. It doesn’t fix everything, but it reminds me I’m more than just work and deadlines.
What I’ve Learned With Street Photography
It had been a while since I picked up my Fujifilm camera, there is something about Fujifilm’s APS-C cameras that I can’t explain, the classic vintage look. Or maybe the “Film Simulation” that it offers, while modern cameras like Sony or Canon focus on ultra sharp and feature-filled cameras, Fujifilm offers something different, vintage old yet fused with modern technology, and it just sparks some sort of feel to it, making feels less “Digital” but “Alive”.
Upgrading from a Fujifilm X-T4 to the X100VI felt like a release. Switching from a bulky, heavy setup to a compact, fixed-lenses essentially a point-and-shoot-style camera was like finding my place in heaven. No more lugging gear around or feeling like I was getting punched in the stomach every time I hung a camera around my neck. The X100VI is pocket-sized, discreet, and effortless and the 23mm (35mm equivalent) f1.4 its just my perfection for capturing moments without disturbing them.
Now, I can take photos without turning heads or interrupting what’s unfolding. It’s just me and the streets, documenting the pure, unfiltered scenes that convey a story. There’s something magical about catching those real, in-between moments nothing staged, nothing forced. Just life, exactly as it is, just right there and then, unique moment that does not happen twice.
Street Photography
Street photography wasn’t a part of the Uni curriculum, but it ended up teaching me more than many of my lectures. Somewhere between work shifts and late-night assignment sessions, I picked up the camera again, not because I had time, but because I needed a better break than lying face down on my bed to recover from work.
Who I learn about street photography from?
I love wandering around with a camera instead of applying SWOT and PESTEL, I constantly remind myself and learning how to used to the “Exposure Triangle” managing Aperture, Shutter Speed and ISO it gave me a way to stop and make sense of the world around me, and it honestly helped provide a little bit of peace and recover my mind. It forced me to slow down and take a look at my surroundings, rather than racing through life on autopilot, and pay attention to life and feel alive for a short while.
Photography It’s an expensive hobby to pick up, I constantly find accessories I can buy especially for non-fixed-lensed cameras wanting to experience different focal lengths, but for me, 23mm is just perfect, but photography isn’t essentially about the gear, it’s about preferences and basic knowledge and more importantly, the person behind that camera, you define what you want to capture and what story your want to tell.
Fujifilm Camera Recommendation
If you want to get into Fujifilm I recommend the X-E4 it is compact here’s why you should get explained in a video I watched.
If in a budget I do recommend the XT-2 , in fact this was my first camera I ever bought! had so much memories with it !
Photography really had changed me, every time I hangout I just want to bring my camera with me even if I don’t think I am going use it, but every now and then I look at something and just want to take a picture of it just because it feels nice to look at, I never really understand why, but I love capturing this unexplained feeling, and a great way to escape my work and Uni stress.
Check out my photography Instagram page
Don’t forget to share your opinions and tips in the comments!