Most people use college as a time to enjoy their new freedoms before the responsibilities of the real world set in. After all, college is exciting when your parents are paying for it. While the majority of college students in the U.S are financially supported by their parents, many people don’t have this luxury.

Instead of accepting a future without formal education, there is a growing group of young adults in our society who are completely financially independent and who are taking the initiative to support themselves through college. Remarkably, students attempting this are doing so in a time when the price of tuition is the most inflated it has ever been. My co-worker Erika Constantine is a remarkable member of this societal group.

Erika works full-time as a server at Hyman’s Seafood while attending classes at Trident Technical College in Charleston, S.C. When I decided I wanted to write this piece about financially independent students, she was the first person I thought to interview; she is often the first face I see upon entering the restaurant. When I finally asked Erika if she’d answer some questions for me, she responded “I mean, I have interviews with Oprah and Ellen coming up,” as she paused to dish out coleslaw, “But I guess I could squeeze you in.” She's always a comedian.

In the summer of 2014, a baby-faced and optimistic Erika Constantine packed all of her belongings - and of course her cat, Matilda - into a ’99 Honda Civic and moved from her mother’s house in Scranton, P.A. to Charleston. Even though she was only nineteen, the prospect of having a new start was exciting for her. After spending her high school years helping her mom pay rent, she was accustomed to challenges.

Since settling into Charleston, Erika’s been waiting tables 40 hours a week to pay a headache-inspiring list of expenses which include rent, utilities, car insurance, groceries, school expenses and tuition. But somehow, every time I see her, she’s in a good mood. Last Saturday, for example, was an ominously quiet morning in the restaurant. Everyone was slumped in their chairs, drinking their coffee and nursing their hangovers. But Erika came in blasting Katy Perry and singing at the top of her lungs while sweeping the carpets. I couldn’t help but smile.

I often arrive at work a little earlier than usual and discover Erika hidden away in a corner, scribbling answers on a page and tapping her foot frantically. Finding time to work full-time and go to school for 15 hours a week seems impossible. She divulged to me that the first thing she sacrifices is sleep. The second is friends. “It’s hard because sometimes you have to choose between a good grade on a test or [being able to pay] rent,” she says. “It's tough.”

She told me that the key to keeping her head above water is routine. Five days a week, she attends classes from 10:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., then completes all assignments from 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m., then from 3:00 p.m. until closing time she works on her feet (running around and hoping her tables tip her decently so she can buy groceries). Whatever remaining schoolwork she has gets done after work, often keeping her up until the middle of the night. Many financially independent students rely on a routine to stay on track, and, for Erika, this specific cycle has been her reality for two full years.

The implications of spreading yourself too thin between work and school are inevitable. Erika doesn’t see her friends for days and if she’s lucky she'll see them for few hours during the weekend. For a 21-year-old, she doesn’t let loose nearly enough. While her friends are off partying or traveling, she’s picking up their shifts at the restaurant. However, she explains to me that balancing work and school have set her apart from others her age and taught her priceless skills. “I know how to budget very well,” she says. “Way better than most people my age. I’m very responsible with my money. I know how to deal with deadlines and unexpected finances because I have gone through that.”

There are some curveballs that not even Erika can put a positive spin on. Her car broke down during the wrath of Hurricane Joaquin last October and it sat in the body shop for months until she could afford to fix it. Most recently, she came down with a nasty virus which robbed her of several days of work. She sat in bed for five days recovering, knowing she wouldn’t receive paid time off and agonizing over the bills she was becoming behind on.

It’s precisely the instability and stress of serving that motivates her to receive an education. She explains, “Whenever I don't feel like doing an assignment I ask myself ‘Is this how you want to live forever? Struggling to pay bills, no financial stability, no sick days at work, working super late nights, and kissing a** for tips?' That is honestly my biggest motivation.”

Her goal is to graduate with a degree in psychology and help her mom financially. It’s clear that she’s taking her dreams seriously; last semester at Trident Technical College Erika finished with a 4.0 while managing to move into a new apartment. The perfect GPA was well deserved and Erika admits that even she was surprised by her success. While it was far from easy, she is living proof that anything can be accomplished through hard work. She attributes a large source of her motivation to the circumstances in which she grew up and a desire to no longer see her mother struggle.

Sadly, life has thrown Erika yet another curve-ball. After attending 6 classes this semester, she received and email stating that she had been dropped from her classes due to an outstanding balance. Erika was informed that, even though she’s been living in Charleston since 2014, she’s still registered as an out-of-state student. On top of this, it appeared that she received less financial aid this semester than the last, even though nothing in her financial standings had changed. “Trident said I had a balance of $3,000 and if I didn't pay within a few days I would have to wait until next semester. I literally begged them to put a hold on the balance until I got it figured out, told them I just want a damn education, but they literally only cared about the money. So now I have to look over my FAFSA and apply for in-state residency and wait.” She told me.

Trying hard to finance one's own education is an indescribably frustrating occurrence to witness, let alone live through. All of Erika's future accomplishments were put on hold due to yet another unexpected fee.

As a society, we should be angry about stories like these. The inflated price of a college education in the U.S. is financially muscling out more and more young adults. Erika Constantine is only one woman in a large crowd of people who are doing everything in their power to receive an education. There are so many young and capable minds being denied an education simply because they can’t afford it.

After Erika and I finished the formal interview and became two 21-year-olds again, she turned to me and said, “I don’t think college should be free, but it should be a lot cheaper. Because for people that grew up like I did… it’s hard for us to go to college. If it was cheaper, it would be a lot easier.” The way she laid it out was so simple. And she was right.

Because of her hard work and perfect GPA, Erika had proven that the only thing keeping her from an education was money. That reality is incredibly backwards.

A person’s future should be determined by the effort they are willing to put into it, not how much money they have in their wallet.