When we think of big cities like New York or Los Angeles, we think of the opportunities, the benefits, and what the city offers. So many stars come from these cities. They are on the big screens and have provided the most lavish lifestyles. Cities like these must be incredible places to reside. Many people do not realize that these urban cities are heavily underfunded, especially in the education department, and a lack of familial resources impacts BIPOC communities the most. Not to mention the systemic barrier put in place that affects these communities. Not having access to quality education makes our lives even harder. Growing up in West Philadelphia, I had to experience things average kids in our state would never have to go through. Life was difficult between family living paycheck to paycheck, having family members involved in criminal activities, and the active gun violence issue in our city. At a young age, I had to learn to mature faster and realize that doing better for the future would be a top priority. My challenges included: I was feeling pressure from my parents to do perfectly academically. I am learning to deal with trauma and grief. I am coming to terms with my identity as a BIPOC. Being the oldest, I had to set an example for the ones after me, and I constantly needed to be perfect and push forward to show others how things are supposed to be. After a while, that pressure just got too much and caused a lot of mental health issues. In my head, I believed perfectionism was the way to make it, and anything below that was unacceptable. In my sophomore year, I had an eye-opening experience that showed that doing the best you can do is enough. From that point forward, that mentality vanished, and I genuinely lived without feeling pressure from others. Recently I have been dealing with a heavy loss that hindered my abilities to do anything and my motivations. My grandfather passed away due to substance abuse, which was challenging this year as he was gone. If I am being one hundred percent honest, it is something I have yet to overcome. This healing process has been longer than any other because we were close. Unforentaly, substance abuse is a significant issue within urban cities and affects BIPOC communities the most. Between over-criminalizing minorities with drug offenses and losing loved ones to these issues, kids in these cities face more considerable challenges than others could imagine. Growing up in a place where people look like each other is always a good thing, but it gets tricky when you have multiple identities. I am a Black and Indigenous person, and I am proud of that, but I did not have a sense of who I was as a child. It was complicated to grow up hating my hair, being taught that black culture is considered things like “ghetto” or “unprofessional,” and feeling disconnected from my indigenous culture. Today, this is still something I am learning to embrace, but this took much effort and self-love over time. It also took much research to understand and be proud of who I am finally. The challenges I faced were things I could not learn how to deal with and process in any Philadelphia public school class. I had to learn these things independently, along with other kids who might not be as fortunate. Furthermore, our education system is failing us simultaneously as our city. The youth in urban neighborhoods deserve as much access to resources as anyone in the county with more options. More importantly, because of societal barriers, BIPOC communities need an extra boost regarding opportunities. Funding schools, providing familial resources, and giving children a chance to live is a step to allow us to overcome generations of being doubted.