Balancing School, Work, and Relationships While Freezing My Eggs

Balancing Life While Freezing My Eggs: A Not-So-Typical College Experience

Juggling school, work, relationships, and egg retrievals? Yeah… not exactly what I would call easy.

Let’s switch things up from all the technical talk and dive into what it’s really like navigating life through all of this.

Freshman Year, Philly, and Fertility Treatments

When I first started this journey, I was just a freshman in college, brand new to Philly, never having lived away from home. I was homesick, overwhelmed, and just trying to figure out who I was.

Balancing lectures, late-night study sessions, and building a social life felt like a full-time job. Then, on top of that, I began fertility treatments. Hormone injections. Outside follicle monitoring. Mood swings. Bloating. I barely had time to breathe, let alone process what I was doing.

During one retrieval I had to do outside monitoring of my follicles (monitoring NOT done with Jacksonville Center for Reproductive Medicine). And honestly? It felt incredibly invasive.

I was placing so much trust in people I had never met, with a body that was doing things I didn’t fully understand. When I was treated poorly during one of those visits, it shook me. I was a young woman in a vulnerable place, and I just wanted someone to treat me with dignity and care.

Jacksonville Center For Reproductive Medicine to the Rescue

That’s where JCRM comes in (not sponsored, but I seriously adore them). From day one, they held my hand through everything. Every nurse, every doctor, and every phone call was kind, communicative, and genuinely caring. They treat me like a princess, and I’m not exaggerating. The emotional safety they gave me changed everything.

Love During Stimulation (Yes, Really)

Here’s a twist I didn’t see coming: I met my boyfriend during my very first retrieval cycle.

Yup, right in the middle of stimulation. I was bloated, hormonal, sore… not exactly my peak moment. But somehow, right in the chaos, this amazing person showed up in my life.

So yeah, weirdly, I kind of owe my ovaries for bringing us together.

The Gym, Hormones, and a Bench Press Meet-Cute

I’m a lifter. Like, heavy lifting. It’s how I cope, how I clear my head.

But when you’re going through retrievals, you’re not supposed to lift heavy or do deep hinging motions because of the risk of ovarian torsion. It felt like I was losing all the progress I’d worked for, especially when I wasn’t even sure I wanted kids at that point.

One day, I was benching for the fourth day in a row (which if my dad knew, he would yell at me 😉 – shhhh), and my gym crush walked up and said,
“Why are you benching four days in a row?”

Yeah, that’s right. He noticed me.
And of course, I immediately started crying. Hormones, obviously. But instead of awkwardly backing away, he walked behind the bench, spotted me, and just stuck beside me. From that moment on, he’s been at every ultrasound, every procedure, and every hormonal meltdown. He supports me without question. Total MVP.

Communication Is Everything

Balancing life through all of this wasn’t easy. But if I’ve learned one thing, it’s this: communicate. Talk to your professors. Your PI. Your boss. Your friends and loved ones. People are more understanding than you’d think. I stayed silent for way too long, trying to be “low-maintenance,” and it made everything harder. Once I opened up, even just a little, I started getting the support I needed. And trust me, asking for help isn’t in my nature.

From Patient to Lab Tech

Work has been its own unique experience. I only work during the summers, and it just so happens I work in an embryology lab. Getting to see the process from both sides, the patient and the science, is surreal. Sometimes I look at the cells under the microscope and think, some of those were mine. It’s the most full-circle moment ever. Understanding what’s happening inside your own body on both the emotional and scientific level? Honestly? That’s pretty damn cool.

A Shift in Perspective

Over time, something in me changed.

When I started this process, I didn’t want kids. But now? I can actually see a future. A family. Something warm and hopeful. And I’m so, so glad I started this early, even when I wasn’t sure where it was all going. It gave me time, space, and options.

The Takeaway

This journey hasn’t been easy, but it’s been deeply meaningful.

I’ve learned how to advocate for myself. I’ve learned how to be vulnerable. And I’ve learned that asking for help is actually strong, not weak.

If you’re going through something similar, just know this: you’re not alone. The hard moments might shape you in ways you never imagined—but they can also lead to the most unexpected, beautiful parts of life.

Sometimes, the scariest detours bring you exactly where you’re meant to be.

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