Growing up, my family didn’t have the most money. Things were tight and sometimes they even seemed impossible. We pulled through and in the end, we always had a roof over our head and food in our bellies. I will never consider myself poor because my parents and family gave all they had to support my siblings and me. For that, I am forever grateful.

I am going to get a little personal with you. I am a college student. I am in my fourth semester at Marshall University studying Social Work and considering taking up a minor in Sociology. My estimated cost of attendance is $21,661. I received a $1,000 scholarship from the university, and I also was eligible for the $2,700 West Virginia Higher Education Grant. A total of $3,700 worth that I am lucky enough not to have to pay back. Due to my parents economic standing, FAFSA was able to find the max amount of help in order to send me to college. That leaves $17,961 that the government is helping me pay through loans. In four years, that'll put me $71,844 in debt right out of college. That’s more than a lot of people make in three years.

I know people will argue that it's just the cost we have to pay. So in this "rant", I won't say anything about making college cheaper, or even making it free, but I will talk from the start.

I was a good student all throughout school. Despite what some may think about the schools I attended, the faculty that I worked with always gave their all and helped their best to prepare me for the rest of my life. The grades however always fell back on me. They could only help so much. Due to my own laziness and mistakes my last two years of high school, I knocked myself out of the running for so many good scholarships that could have sent me all the way through college debt free. A reality that could have been mine was taken from me due to my own actions (or lack thereof). That’s a reality that isn't open to everybody. There are students within this country who go to school in less than acceptable conditions. From the start, they are given less of a chance at a good future due to absolutely no fault of their own. Kids like me threw away a chance that they don’t even see as possible. Our country is allowing those students to fall through the cracks because it is simply easier to turn a blind eye. It is easier to ignore the big issue at hand and instead act like it isn't a problem at all. Kids feel unsafe at their school. Kids aren't being fed at home so they come to school in hopes of a warm embrace and a warm meal. Instead, they are leaving with a cold heart because we chose to show them no sympathy for a life they didn’t choose. Our country is cheating itself out of so many good citizens because we feel that one student deserves more than another.

As someone who looks at life and wishes it could be fair for all, I am going to do my best as a social worker to provide social justice within our school systems. Today I learned where I want to place myself in my work and where I feel I can make the most difference. We all deserve the same chance to succeed, no matter the color of you skin, the money in your pocket, or the home in which you live.