Being a first-generation college student means more than just being the first in your family to attend college.

Being a first-generation college student means having to figure it out on your own. When I was getting ready to apply for college, scholarships, and FAFSA I either had to look for outside help or figure it out on my own. I had no family to go to for help because they were as clueless as I was. Although I was thankful to have outside help from counselors and my AVID class, it would have been nice to share the experience with my parents. However, I am looking forward to helping my little sister with her journey to college. She will not have to seek outside help because she will have an older sister who has gone through it.

Being a first-generation college student means having the odds against you. Research has shown that first-generation college students are less likely to graduate college as opposed to those who have parents that went to college. We carry that pressure of what the statistics say about us because we do not want to be a statistic.

Being a first-generation college student means feeling like an outcast. The first day of my freshman year in my statistics class I walked in and saw nothing but Caucasian students. Although my campus is diverse, most of my classes my freshman year were with Caucasian students. I felt like I did not belong because there weren't many students like me in class.

Being a first generation student means having parents who are proud but who do not fully understand. Since our parents do not know what college is like because they never went, they have a hard time understanding it. I decided to stay home for college and my parents thought it would be like high school. In high school I never studied and now in college I spend hours at the library. At first, my parents had a hard time grasping why I was never home.

Being a first generation student comes with struggles but it is a beautiful thing. We come from many generations where no one has gone to college and being the first is an honor. Being the first is thanking our parents for their sacrifices. Our parents did not go to college because they did not want to, but because they did not have the opportunity to do so. Be proud to be a first-generation college student.