Advice: Challenges
Our Picks in Challenges
Editor’s Pick: Not having as much money as her classmates
“My family was blue-collar in a white-collar town. My parents worked really hard and did their best, but they had four kids and neither of them had advanced degrees. They did what they could. Even though we were always taken care of and I never wanted for food or clothing or shelter, most of the kids at my very small high school – there were about 60 people in my class – had so much more than I did, and I felt that difference everyday.”
Editor’s Pick: Losing her father and leaving school
“My dad died in 2008 and I dropped out of high school my junior year for about three or four months. I just went to work full-time to keep my thoughts away from school and my dad’s death. I didn’t want to go to school because I didn’t want to be faced with the questions about why I hadn’t been in school. It was embarrassing to me. I let my teachers down, I let my mom down; I let a lot of people down. Finally during my senior year I realized that this is not a game; this is real life and I have to support myself. What could I do without an education?”
