In light of the recent scandals involving celebrities cheating and buying their children a way into college, I would just like to take this opportunity to express the pride I feel towards not only myself but everyone I know who has worked so hard to get to where they are because they wanted it.

Regardless of the means that my peers have come from, for the most part, we all worked extremely hard to get to where we are in life. SATs and college admissions are all well and good, but I'm talking about working hard towards any goal. I have always been education driven, I got good grades in High School, graduated Cum Laude in college because that was a goal of mine and something I wanted to achieve.

I know people who took the SATs and got into college and dropped out because it wasn't right for them and are busting their ass working towards a life they can actually be proud of. I think we are all a little shocked at the audacity and privilege it takes to spend $500,000 just to cheat your children into college. Let me repeat that one more time, $500,000. Yes, take my student loans after 4 years at a state school and multiply it by 5 and that is how much these people bribed just to get their children into school, let alone the costs of tuition once they're there.

Not to say I am not privileged, my parents did help me attend school and I was very lucky that I had the opportunity to live in housing all four years. I understand my privilege, but at least I worked my butt off to get there. The pride I feel from accomplishing a goal that I set for myself after working tirelessly for years is something these kids will never understand, and it's upsetting. And the fact of the matter is, my struggle isn't over. My need to set goals for myself and achieve them is not over and will never be over because I don't have the means to support myself with no job or no degree. I did what I had to do to get my life to the place I wanted it to be.

Seeing this total lack of respect for the people who earn their spots in colleges and sports teams just makes me that much more proud of myself and my friends and the people I love. We earned it, and we deserved it. All the things that we achieve in our lives will be because we worked hard for it, and that is a feeling you can't buy or cheat your way through.