I have always considered education to be one of the most crucial aspects of life. I feel like it's something many people take for granted. Having access to proper schooling is a luxury, not all have. I did a quick search on the internet and found that there are over 72 million children of elementary school age do not have access to schooling. There are also over 759 million adults around the world that are illiterate and because of this are unable to better their living situations. In the U.S. alone over 1.2 million students drop out of high school each year. Many countries don't have the proper resources to allocate funding for schools and providing materials sufficient for an educational system. Not having access to education is a classic catch-22. The reason many of these children aren't able to attend school is that of extreme financial instability, and by not going to school they are doomed to poverty for the rest of their lives.

Now, this applies to cases in our country as well. There are many school districts in the country that aren't getting the funding they need to assure their students are performing to the best of their ability. Children are hungry, exhausted, and facing issues at home that cause academic struggles. As a child who grew up in poverty and had free school lunches, overcoming such challenges was very difficult. I had the advantage of going to some of the best schools in my hometown because of the district and area I lived in, and for that I am grateful. But, it also made it very difficult to relate to my peers. I was often working 25 hours per week and taking several AP and honors classes and it felt as though I was consistently working harder than many of my counterparts, dealing with high levels of stress. This impacted my grades and although I graduated with a high GPA it was discouraging to watch those around me succeeding and knowing they weren't facing what I was at home. Speaking from personal experience, being at school was the best time of my day and because of that all of my passion was poured into it because I knew it was my only way out of poverty.

For economically disadvantaged students that attend school overrun with poverty, they're more likely to have a poor educational system, which makes throwing yourself into school work more difficult. Nothing makes me angrier than the American public school system. I can't say I was at the receiving end of this but watching it affect others who went through similar situations as I make me want to make a difference. Call me a socialist, but I think every single human being should have access to proper schooling and the ability to attend higher education. A well-educated society is more likely to have skills, confidence, are more community-minded and likelier to vote. By attending higher education students become are surrounded with diversity which broods tolerance and a more well-rounded society. With the increasing costs of higher education, it isn't becoming feasible for many students overrun with poverty and they aren't receiving the resources they need to succeed in life. Our country might not struggle with the ability to attend K-12 school like many others, but there are substantial financial burdens associated with furthering education through college. Because of this, I think education is an incredible privilege.

Countries do better when their educational systems set their citizens up to thrive, so why aren't we doing something about this? More education means a society in which its people will drive the economy and lead happier healthier lives. Often the right wing argues that the cost of funding higher education will create a vast economic impact but what they aren't seeing is that it would actually impact our country for the better economically. So instead of focusing 54% of our budget on the military, (might I add that Donald Trump would like to increase this to $681 billion dollars) why aren't we investing in the minds of our citizens and the way it can impact economic growth? I firmly believe every human being on the face of the earth should have access to education regardless of their financial situation and their ability to succeed in life shouldn't be hindered based on their parent's income or where they live.

In conclusion, I would just like to say that although school and college sucks sometimes, we should all be thankful for the opportunity. We should do our best to improve the educational system in America and help those set up to fail be set up to succeed. I have faith that by the time our generation is running for public office, we will do everything in our ability to level the playing field and give every child the best chance to thrive in life, especially those faced with adversity. So if you're a college student reading this, please recognize your privilege and one day when our generation is sitting in Congress, I implore you to make better decisions than our current administration.