Dear first gen,

I am so unbelievably proud of you. I know it has been hard for you. Everyone else around you seems to have it together. And when you look around you feel lost, as if you didn't belong.

Everyone has these stories of what their parents did in college or what Greek life their siblings joined. But, we just have ourselves and our own accomplishments.

It was your first semester in college, you took the easiest class according to your adviser but when you walked into the room, you realized it was taking you triple the amount of time to complete the homework. You were unable to participate in class. And you were constantly finding places around campus to tutor.

Every semester you hope it gets easier but obstacles arise every single semester.

Meanwhile, your colleagues focus on their studies during finals week you are emailing and meeting financial aid advisers to find a way to stay yet another semester. You are up at late hours of the night applying to scholarships and any grants you can get your hands on.

Then, during your breaks, you go home and you smile. You have fun and you laugh with your family. Inevitably, the conversations asking how college life is and what your grades are looking up will come up, but you just smile and nod. You don't want to disappoint them because the day you walked the stage during your high school graduation, they were there. They sent you good luck messages and helped you move into your dorm.

Regardless, you still feel as if though you don't belong and sometimes you just want to drop out and give up. But then, you think of them. You think of everything they ever sacrificed simply to see you smile. You think of the long shifts they worked to help you pay for your college fees. You remember are all the prayers your grandparents send your way.

Every time you think you don't belong, go back and see everything you have done to get here. Think of all of the college applications you had to fill out. Think about all those summer jobs you had to work to afford it. Think about the day you received those acceptance letters and the joy you felt at that moment.

You do belong, you always have. This place was made for you, so go out there and make it yours. Learn all about your passion, email as many offices as you have to, study, join Greek life, start new clubs, bring awareness to problems in your community, work, and get your education. There is a diploma with your name on it waiting for you.

All I hope for you is that one day you get to walk that stage with your diploma at hand and you get to say you made it. I hope that your younger siblings have stories to tell about their siblings' college life. I hope your kids don't have it as rough and you can be the mentor to them that you never had. I hope you walk away from that college feeling as if though you own the world.

You deserve it. You earned it.

Sincerely,

Just another first gen fighter