A Breakthrough With My Mom
When I was 7, my mother said, “I’m going to America to give us a better life.” “Why?” I asked. In Jamaica, my dad worked for a gas company and owned a shop attached to our house where we sold basic items like bread, light bulbs, and combs. On Saturdays we sold patties, a kind […]
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Almost Derailed by the Pandemic
Last year I was in the spring semester of my junior year at Queens College when COVID-19 shut school down. At first, I was excited that I wouldn’t have to wake up early for class anymore. Then I found out I was getting kicked out of the dorm—which was my home. For the past three […]
Read MoreHow I Survived My First Semester of College
When I started college at the University of Vermont, I felt nervous but confident. I enrolled in seven classes: linguistics, race and racism in the U.S., global health anthropology, approaches to health, cultural crossroads, communication and science, and intro to psychology. While my parents and teachers were surprised by how many classes I was taking, […]
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Is College for Me?
Up until the 11th grade, school was a struggle. My parents abused me, which made it hard to concentrate, and they never helped or encouraged me in school. Then I went into care, missed a lot of school, and fell behind. Now I need to make a big decision: I’m 19 and only have two […]
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