Aisse Tounkara
Professor Hall
09/02/2019
                                                         Unit One Essay
     As a young child I knew education would be my way out. My way to escape my environment and become something/ somebody in life. Education saved me from a lot of the violence that was going on in my neighborhood. Education allowed me to stay hopeful. One particular moment that I experienced changed my entire view on education forever. I remember it like it was just yesterday. It was junior year and it was time to start looking into colleges. I remember telling my counselor, I would like to attend St John’s University. She looked at me and stated “that school is expensive your family can’t really afford it”. It really brought me into a deep depression. Here I am having hope that my future would be so bright but I have someone who was supposed to be guiding me help me look for schools and encourage me to keep going in life say “your family can’t really afford that. I went home later that day and spoke to my mother. I said to my mother “Mami my counselor ruined my hopes of attending the school that I dreamed of always attending. My mother looked at me and said never let anyone stop you from doing and going places where you always dreamed of going. That taught me to never let financial barriers get in your way. Financial barriers are a big issue when it comes to college. Often people get into these really good schools and when the time comes they never end up going because of financial situations standing in their way. That’s a huge issue. A couple months ago I was honored to be apart of Michelle Obama’s Reach Higher Initiative program. Out of 200 students only 10 highschool seniors were selected to be apart of this Conference at Howard University in Washington D.C. This conference was mainly for first generation college students and all the obstacles it took us to get to the place we’re at now. It taught me to never give up, to keep beating the odds, and strive against everything. One thing in particular that stuck with me was when Mrs Obama was a highschool student, her counselor said to her, “You should look into other schools because you are not Princeton material”. From there on forward she knew she could do anything she wanted to achieve despite what people would say. As you maneuver on in life people will always try to discourage you with their negative comments. They will always put their fears onto you. But you have to rise above that and not let no counselor stand in your way, no financial barriers. If you allow people to project their fears onto you, you won’t live. I’ve had jobs throughout highschool but I said to myself “education is going to be essential for my success, my future, and the people who love me. Over the years I realized that education was important to me and that it always will be. I’ve struggled a lot and I’ve seen the struggle right in front of me. But I knew with education I’d be able to change that struggle. I did not allow that moment with my counselor define who I was, who I am, and who I will become. I knew I would redefine success by pursuing higher education. Attending law school was something I knew I’d be interested in pursuing. Even as a youngin I did college programs, started networking with people, enrolled in internships, and did everything possible to be successful in life. I also remember entering city tech the first day of July to discuss my financial aid. The lady at the financial aid desk would send me back every day for a whole month. “Your missing this, your missing that”. This kept going on until the second week of the fall semester. She said to me “If your financial aid is not processed you will be forced to drop your classes, or pay out of pocket for your tuition”. I reached a breaking point because I was so overwhelmed. I had to endure so much just because I wanted to pursue higher education. I managed to save enough money for textbooks, and transportation fees until my financial aid was processed. In highschool I learned that financial barriers were a major problem in why most of the people in my community never got to college, or dropped out of college. I was never going to let financial situation get in the way of what’s dearest to me. I’m sending a message for people to understand that financial barriers are a major problem when it comes to pursuing higher education. Financial barriers suck. It makes you not want to attend college because it’s a lot to deal with. But you have to have patience. Now imagine a young girl from the Bronx who did not let financial situations stop her from dreaming, and achieving.
