Publications
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Our Picks
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. I subconsciously knew that I couldn’t date boys who had a lot more than me because I wasn’t in their class or their league. I wasn’t even on their radar. I especially hated the week after Christmas vacation, because everyone would be talking about what they got and I would never have a cool story to tell my friends. I didn’t really feel like I even had friends. I felt very isolated from the whole culture; I felt different from everyone because I didn’t have money and I resented it. By the time I was 15 I was shoplifting on a regular basis, even when I had the money to pay for things. I was angry because I felt like I deserved to have the same things everyone around me had. In high school there is so much emphasis on clothes and style, what you have in your room, your home, etc. – all of those material things – that not having money became a huge social hurdle for me.”
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? What was I going to do, work at Subway my whole life? Some jobs now don’t even hire you without a high school diploma or a GED. I wanted to walk across the stage and get my diploma handed to me. It wasn’t easy because I always thought about my dad, but talking to my mom made me realize that she really wanted the best for me. I used to push her away when she told me I needed to go to school, but then I grew up and realized that you have to go to school. I don’t understand why anyone wouldn’t want to.”