As a person who's the first in her family to go to college, I don't exactly have a lot of resources. I don't know what I'm doing in terms of academia and the collegiate system, and I'm navigating the waters of a career path that thrives on instability and financial burden. I have to work my a** off in school because my attendance at school is dependent on my scholarship, and needless to say, I also have to work. Between six hours a day in class and working shifts and freelancing daily, I don't have a lot of time for socialization or relaxation, even if I had the money to do so.

I get by on my minimum wage job and the odd editing commission or article I freelance. Any extra money I come by has to go on immediate expenses. There is no one I can call on for money, and if I can't afford things, even stuff like food, I go without. There's no going abroad for me, no internships or residencies unless I'm in a place where I have the money to save.

Then I deal with other types of people, who may not be rich, but are well off enough. A financial bind is as easy as calling home for help, and after class jobs are meant for shopping money or a few extras.

This isn't meant to shame those people at all, and if it comes across that way, I'll be the first to admit, I'm jealous. Stressing about paying for food, travel, and clothes while trying to get a bachelor's degree is insane in a way I wouldn't wish on my first enemy. It certainly doesn't make for a fun college experience.

In regards to my actual career itself, people tend to think I'm a workaholic. "Slow down, take your time. Relax, it's not that serious." In my position, I have nothing to fall back on. If hard work doesn't happen, the career won't happen because I have no connections or second choices.

That being said, when I tell people what's going on, I typically get the same response.

"That sounds really hard. I don't know how you do it."

I know that, in general, people mean well, but this comment is really hard to swallow. People who don't have to deal with this situation often think it's admirable, and think their comments about "you're tougher than I am" completely miss the point.

I'm not doing this to be tough, strong, or admirable. I'm doing it because I have no choice.

If I don't work, I don't eat. If I don't pull all-nighters doing homework, I lose my scholarship. And if I don't throw my free time into my career, I won't progress as quickly as I need to.

There is a certain privilege and security in knowing you can call home and ask for help, even if you don't realize it. That safety net, I imagine, would be nice to have, and that's why I don't get when people don't appreciate it.

I use the word privilege because that's what it is -- having access to money is a privilege. For people who grew up poor or lower class, as I did, it's not as easy as "work a little bit harder or get a better job." People are all too quick to say that if I wanted it, I'd work harder, and are surprised when I say that a sum as small to them as 50 bucks is a lot of money, because for someone like me, it really is. To quote Janet Jackson, "Nothing from nothing leaves nothing," and grappling at any twigs I can trying to climb the tree has to be good enough for the time being.

I realize this is a mundane topic, and I write this in the throes of being broke and counting pennies out until pay day. But I don't do this to be some kind of beacon or standard for how hard people should work, and I don't do it win any praise.

There's a certain expectation for people in my position to grin and bear the brunt of our problems. Working hard builds character is what we've all heard, usually from people who are in a position where that isn't their reality.

I appreciate your intent, but people like me don't do what we do to be tough and strong. We do it because sometimes you have to struggle in building a better life for yourself. And I hope that people who don't deal with that never have to, because it isn't by any means easy.