Writing Tutor, Center for Academic Success.
Graduating this semester with a bachelor's in BA in English and a minor in AAAS.
I spent my first years of my adult life thinking that I would never get a bachelor's because it was only for people who had the money for it. I've always enjoyed learning, but I wasn't a good student growing up due to difficulties at home and being undiagnosed for my mental disorders. I did working class jobs for years before a series of life-changing events made me realize that I was marginalized and exploited and that many employers in my line of work didn't respect education or social issues as much as I did so I went back to get my associate's degree and transfer to Cal State LA for my bachelor's.
Advice for First-Gen Students
As someone who has worked in several industries from manual labor to entertainment to a multi-billion dollar corporation, one thing I wish I knew when I was younger is that the world we live in was built on some people having more advantages than others, and trying to be a tough nut about it only serves to pit disadvantaged people against each other. It's easy to criticize other people for being overly sensitive or lazy, but everyone has a limit, and many people who put down others simply haven't reached that limit yet. Because I wasn't honest to myself about my own limit, it took me decades to become fully in-touch with my identity. If you're going to hype yourself up, don't do it by stepping on others because you never know when you're going to fall down and have someone else treat you the same way.