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Education

Confessions Of A First Gen. College Kid

No one told me that it would be this hard.

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Confessions Of A First Gen. College Kid
Hannah Morgan

If you can't tell by the title, I am a first generation college student. And, I have no idea what I'm doing here. I'm still struggling with FAFSA and paperwork. I still don't understand how people can use scandals to get it. That's the tea.

But there is something else that no one told me about college and being a first gen. college kid. No one told me that I would feel different, odd, even weird coming back home. I hate it. I really do.

To be completely candid, I feel weird most of the time. When I come home from uni and finally get the chance to spend time with my family, I feel singled out. I know that I'm probably making it up, but I can't help but to feel different from everyone else around me.

Where I'm from, most people don't go to college...and that's fine. In most situations, it's a smart move to go into a trade or somewhere else where one is practically promised a job that pays well. Meanwhile, I spend thousands of dollars each semester and still not guaranteed that a job after graduation. I won't lie- it worries me sometimes.

So I know that not going to college can be a clever choice. Not everyone is made for college. I get that.

I'm not going to judge you.

When all is said and done, I see no difference between someone who has gone to college and someone who choose not to.

So, I don't know why I assume that everyone sees me differently.

It is true, I am the first in my family to leave home to attend a university hours away from home. I am the first to spend this much money, and I am the first to venture out and attempt to get a career in something that isn't a trade.

Sometimes, I sit around my family during dinner.

It is then that I realize that my views are different from theirs. I didn't realize that I had changed so much. And I hate that.

I want to fit in with my family and friends so badly. I want them to look at me the same way they had always. I want to have the same laughs, fights and mindless conversation.

But there is such a stigma around college and the "leftist" views it gives.

I know that I want college, but sometimes I miss what I used to have. I miss when I was just another high school kid trying to climb their way to the top.

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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
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