what if i told you this wasn't supposed to be angry?
since i was a little girl, my momma told me that this world wouldn't care about me. she wasn't being mean; she was being realistic. see i grew up a poor, black kid like my parents before me. she knew my chances of doing something great were slim, not b/c i lacked the talent, but because this is sadly how america works. so she always pushed me to be my best in academics b/c that was my only real shot of breaking the poverty cycle.
and that's pretty much what every role model and teacher has told me throughout my educational career. the key to escaping poverty was education. it wasn't until college that i realized that wasn't the whole story.
it should really be education is the key to escaping poverty, but that key will always be a little out of your reach.
i got lucky. i really did. i think about my family's background and i think, man, how did i make it? 5 kids. addict dad. family far below the poverty line. how did i make it?
so every time i see some bullshit scholarship essay prompt that wants me to talk about my financial need, it pisses me off. you told me that all i needed was to want to better myself, but now you tell me i can't because i'm poor?!
how dare you! how dare you ask why my financial need is relevant! how dare you expect me to be upbeat about it! i'm putting myself in debt with student loans just for a chance! a fucking chance!
so yeah, i'll start believing america wants me to succeed when i see more opportunities for poor kids.
