This summer I enrolled in community college. I’m going back in my late 20s while working 50 hours as a retail manager. Even getting enrolled is the farthest I’ve ever gotten. In previous years, I’ve been burned out at work and given up over really simple things like filing pieces of paperwork on time.

Getting enrolled was like crossing a huge finish line for me. My plan was to take mostly online classes and study on the weekends.

In my first week of class, one of our staff members called out sick on my off day and I had to cover it at the last minute. On my next off day I went to a work function. In the middle of that, I learned that my grandmother was very sick in the hospital. Last weekend I spent that whole night and next day there. That also meant driving an hour to pick up my aunt and bring her to and from the hospital. She is a very kind and caring person, and also an avid back seat driver! My granny is so sick that the family is making funeral plans.

I am already two weeks behind in my classes. I e-mailed one of my professors explaining the situation and her response was two words: “Course code?” I feel like sick grandmother is, like, this stock excuse that people use to get out of anything, and really doesn’t garner much sympathy or understanding. I’ve gotten pushback from my job over trying to take time off to be there.

Without my help, my aunt will not be able to be there. She needs to be helped out of the house, into the car, and to the hospital room, so she can’t just take a cab. My uncle has been making pushy inquiries about the will and he and my aunt have been fighting over that.

This whole situation is running me ragged, and I’m basically a ball of guilt, resentment, exhaustion, and worry. ALSO, I took a class at the college back in like 2009 and didn’t finish it. That means I’m already on academic probation there, and if I don’t pull up my GPA this semester I will lose my student loan.

My granny is going into a high-risk surgery tomorrow, and I have a big assignment due on Saturday. I work both of those days.

Lots of people get through college under these kinds of circumstances. How?