Nobody has control over the type of family they are born into, whether it be a well off family or not. I personally was born into a family that was not so well off. I had to pay for my entire college education, which meant I had to work 1-2 jobs in addition to attending class full-time and attempting to complete internships and other opportunities that would help me get accepted into graduate school. Nobody from the upper class background will understand the struggles I have faced, as no one from my background will understand the experiences a well-off individual has had, and there’s nothing wrong with that. I’m not even going to criticize the fact that you wrote this article, as I am sure it is frustrating when people get annoyed with something you had no control over. However, I do just want to point out the perspective of someone coming from the other side, as it is equally annoying being surrounded by colleagues who have all the time in the world to do schoolwork (and even more so annoying seeing some of these people waste that time!) I get that you’re proud of your grades, and you should be—however, I also am proud of mine. I graduated college with a 4.00, which was the greatest accomplishment of my life. Just like your degree represents your parents’ hard work, mine also represents my parents’ hard work as well as my own. My mom is a single mother who works a full-time job and even has worked part-time jobs on the side here and there. Her hard work was an inspiration for me to go to college so I could become better off than she was, and not only be able to provide for my children someday, but also give back to her. My degree represents the minimal amount of time I had to study and do homework, squeezing study time into EVERY minute that I wasn’t working. It represents the opportunities turned down due to lack of time, such as going out with friends or attending family events. Though I am not saying someone with money doesn’t work hard, I do want to point out that it is a LOT easier for someone like you to take advantage of opportunities that will further your career. Since I had to work nearly 40 hours a week, I couldn’t join any clubs or do internships I would have liked to have done. In the meantime, someone like you has a lot more time on their hands to do these things, and therefore, has a better opportunity at obtaining a job at the end of the road because their resume looks a heck of a lot better than someone who was flipping burgers just to get that degree on their resume. Just some things to think about next time you get frustrated by us “paying for our own college” people.
Nobody has control over the type of family they are born into, whether it be a well off family or not. I personally was born into a family that was not so well off. I had to pay for my entire college education, which meant I had to work 1-2 jobs in addition to attending class full-time and attempting to complete internships and other opportunities that would help me get accepted into graduate school. Nobody from the upper class background will understand the struggles I have faced, as no one from my background will understand the experiences a well-off individual has had, and there’s nothing wrong with that. I’m not even going to criticize the fact that you wrote this article, as I am sure it is frustrating when people get annoyed with something you had no control over. However, I do just want to point out the perspective of someone coming from the other side, as it is equally annoying being surrounded by colleagues who have all the time in the world to do schoolwork (and even more so annoying seeing some of these people waste that time!) I get that you’re proud of your grades, and you should be—however, I also am proud of mine. I graduated college with a 4.00, which was the greatest accomplishment of my life. Just like your degree represents your parents’ hard work, mine also represents my parents’ hard work as well as my own. My mom is a single mother who works a full-time job and even has worked part-time jobs on the side here and there. Her hard work was an inspiration for me to go to college so I could become better off than she was, and not only be able to provide for my children someday, but also give back to her. My degree represents the minimal amount of time I had to study and do homework, squeezing study time into EVERY minute that I wasn’t working. It represents the opportunities turned down due to lack of time, such as going out with friends or attending family events. Though I am not saying someone with money doesn’t work hard, I do want to point out that it is a LOT easier for someone like you to take advantage of opportunities that will further your career. Since I had to work nearly 40 hours a week, I couldn’t join any clubs or do internships I would have liked to have done. In the meantime, someone like you has a lot more time on their hands to do these things, and therefore, has a better opportunity at obtaining a job at the end of the road because their resume looks a heck of a lot better than someone who was flipping burgers just to get that degree on their resume. Just some things to think about next time you get frustrated by us “paying for our own college” people.