First acknowledging that college is not for everyone, I would like to say that I've actually convinced my sister to go to college. She was one those people who believed college was not for her. She had plans of entrepreneurship for her future and had things all figured out. Two years after high school had passed and she never got around to starting her business. She said she had no idea what she wanted to do anymore. The business she had in mind had stopped becoming her passion and she was on the road to finding herself. I brought up the topic of college, she declined time and time again. I never really asked why because she said that college wasn't for her. The day that she asked why, she explained how people acquire debt for something that is not guaranteed. I explained to her that being an entrepreneur was the exact same thing. Investing in college or a business or anything that you do in life in order to be successful is an investment in yourself. Nothing, not even a fast food job is guaranteed. The debt could be labor or time and not just money. In order to be successful is to bet on yourself. If you do all that you can do I'm order to be successful in an area of work you want, you are most likely going to get there. College gives people stepping stools in order to be closer to that goal. Hearing this rationale and understanding the structure of life is just borrowing time, energy, or money in order to reach success, my sister thought about it and ended up majoring in business and going to school. I would tell anyone that college is an investment in themselves and although it is very expensive and doesn't guarantee success, it is a stepping stone for them to reach their max potential.

As a poor black queer woman, I have many challenges I face daily. I think one of the strongest challenges I have faced that affect me daily is my socioeconomic status being below the poverty line. I constantly have to apply for scholarships and work twice as hard in order to support myself. I work while in college and I'm constantly searching for new ways to gain support in order to finish school and become an educator. A lot of the time I feel that I cannot strictly focus on school due to trying to balance finances as well. My family does not have the funds in order to support me financially at school either so I am doing this all by myself. I think that I have done well at maintaining my 3.75 GPA but, I do not want constant sleepless nights and exhaustion in order to succeed. There are so many factors against me and while I am conquering them slowly but surely, I would love for things to lighten the load. One too many sleepless nights just might have my success going in reverse sooner or later. The only way to truly balance is to have the playing field be even, and for me, it is not. As someone who wants to be an educator, I want to do anything in my power to even the playing field for students and support them any way I know how. I think that when people go to school, they lack a place where they are respected and loved and that it what I want to provide for people.

I have no extravagant answer as to where I would donate it to those around me or share and it's because I can't. The prices for pretty much everything have gone up so high that I am constantly sinking. Next year I have to get an apartment because my school does not have enough space to house upperclassmen. The rent is $1000 a month for a one bedroom apartment a mile away from campus. I would say I could use the money on rent. However, I also have to make sure I have money to eat and buy gas and overall support myself outside of bills. Next school year I'm sort of forced to eat and pay for school or have a roof to live under and so with the $1000 for at least a month or so, I won't have to chose. I have grants and things but even with my EFC at zero, I don't have enough money to cover everything. Although I would like to have a more exciting answer, I would spend the $1000 on basic human needs. My family does not have the funds to support me through college and so my best bets are loans and scholarships. Being a poor black woman makes going to college a struggle and honestly, anything would help.

Teachers change lives. I am a student in the Michigan State University Urban Educator Cohort Program. I attend the university because of the program and all that I can say is teachers change lives. Education is so important because those who have it have a better chance in navigating the world that we live in. What is more important is the teacher. I grew up in Detroit, Michigan, the middle school that I attended was not the best school. We had old books, tables, chairs, and rooms. The school was basically structured like a prison. We walked through metal detectors, we had silent lunches, no phones, uniforms, and very few field trips. We went through principals every two or three years who implemented harsher and more harmful policies to black youth. The only thing that motivated us to get an education was our teachers. They inspired us to want to mean something. They were the only ones letting us know that we had value and were loved. Black female teachers were the main ones supporting us and our success. Those same teachers are the ones who made me want to become one. That is why I say that teachers change lives. Education is important because it give you an opportunity to meet someone that will show you that you matter. It gives you an opportunity to be seen.

To say that I've found my way would be lying. Navigating life in a world centered around rich, white, straight, Christian men, makes me feel unseen. As a black pansexual woman, finding my way has not been easy. Navigating racism, sexism, and homophobia at every turn of life makes things all the more difficult. First understanding that I was pansexual was somewhat of a journey. I had my first girlfriend at the age of 9. We held hands and pretty much had as much a relationship a 9 year old could have. Some time after we had "broken up" she explained to me that for her, our relationship was just a phase. She didn't like girls anymore. I questioned if that was the same for me. So I looked to boys and found them attractive too. I did not fathom the possibility that both groups were an option. I used to write love letters and poems for all those that had caught my eye. All the crushes I had on girls seemed to be pushed down into a bin and pushed under my bed. And so until the age of 14 I strictly dated boys. I liked it, I just felt I forced them to be my only option. Then there was this girl. One that stood out so much that the bin under my bed flew out and all the dust blew away and I started writing poetry again. I realized that it wasn't the fact that they were a girl or a boy or whatever they could be, it was the fact that they had this wow factor. Something about them that made me want to write poetry and gaze upon them for all my days. I identified as bisexual because I didn't know that pansexual was a thing. Once I learned it, I felt it described me completely. I know this sounds like I've found my way, but even understanding the definition of who I am, letting others know and being around someone who understands me is the next step. I started this essay acknowledging how I feel unseen, this world is hard enough having two characteristics that make it hard for people to even view me as human. I have chosen not to come out to a large majority of people except for those closest to me for that reason alone. I have lost friends and one family member due to disclosing this part of myself and until I'm willing to risk losing possibly a portion of people around me, I have to find my way.