“You know you’re the first one in the family to go off to college, right?”
This is something all first-generation college students have heard at some point or another during the application process.
It is that question posed to us by our relatives that gives us our distinct label, “first-gen."
It is what allows us to attend special meetings at our respective institutions in order to meet “others” like us.
It is what allows us to check off a box ignored by our peers, but cherished by us when submitting our college applications.
I won’t deny it, being a first-generation college student fills me with a unique sense of pride, a sort of “Congratulations! You will now accomplish a new set of feats your ancestors only dreamed of” kind of feeling.
But as I have learned through my own college experience thus far, being a first-generation college student isn’t all sunshine and rainbows.
There are days when the true significance of being "first" in your family creeps up on you, forcing you to accept that in many ways your family's success is contingent on yours.
No pressure.
By now I am well aware of the fact that this won't be the first nor will it be the last article you might come across about being a first-generation college student, but upon talking to other friends, who also happen to be first-gen students, each one of our experiences to get where we are today is unique.
This is mine.
Early on in my life, I was forced to accept that college was simply not in the cards for me given my parents legal status.
I remember watching the news and seeing other Latinas being praised for getting into prestigious universities such as Harvard.
"It must be nice," I would think to myself.
The parents, in tears, while being interviewed, would say that their child's college acceptance gave them hope for the future.
The sacrifices they made not only to get to the U.S. but raise their child while working odd jobs and doing their best to navigate the arguably flawed and daunting American education system had paid off with a letter and hopefully sizeable financial aid package.
In many ways, first-generation students share a part of this story, I know I do, but it is the stories we share with the admissions board to get into college that varies.
For me, I found myself having to prove that while the argument that I was a "victim" of this country's broken immigration system could be made, I never took it as such. My past and my parent's legal status had given me a purpose and a reason to continue pursuing my studies.
I didn't want to go to college because it would put an end to a cycle all too familiar to many immigrant families (grow up, start working at a young age, have a family, repeat), but rather because being forced to confront the reality of our immigration system I came to realize that something had to be done.
That is the point I tried to get across through the countless supplements and personal statements sent to colleges, and that is what keeps me going when I wake up in the mornings, when I pull an all-nighter and when I want to throw in the towel and call it quits.
This purpose I carry with me, but as expected it is easy to get caught up in this new reality that is "college."
At times, I constantly have to remind myself why I'm here because when you get to college it's easy to forget what got you here in the first place.
You are immersed in a new environment, surrounded by people who know nothing about you but your name and (potential) major, the two fundamental factors for starting a new page in your life, allowing you to forget to look back at the pages that have already been written.
If you're a future first-gen college student reading this article, take this as a quick heads up: there will be times when you may or may not forget why you're "here," but know that it's happened to all of us at one point or another.
Not having had anyone at home to tell you what to expect makes the next four years of your life that much more nerve-racking.
"Am I doing this all wrong?" is something I've wondered quite a number of times throughout my freshman year, but truthfully there isn't a "right" way to go about college. This is a new experience not only for you but for your family as well.
They're learning about college and all its glory (debatable) through you and the ups and downs you may encounter throughout the next four years.
And while I will admit at times I wish I did have someone to ask, "did you do this when you were in college too?" or have a funny story about my parent's college experience to share with my peers, the truth is there is something to value with starting from 0.
Allow yourself to get lost in the moment every once in a while, but always remember your roots, namely the sacrifices your parents made to help get you where you are today.
You owe these next four years and the memories you'll make to yourself as much as you owe your overall success to your family.
There will be times when you will feel out of touch with everything around you, and the pressures of being "first" start to flood your thoughts but just remember, exactly a year ago just when you thought you wouldn't be able to start and finish the college process on your own, you did.
You are more than capable of finishing this new chapter too. Keep on going.