While we may all enter college as equals, the paths to this point have been different and far from equal. When adults who did not attend college make less than those who did, their children may be at a disadvantage. However, all incoming first years with diverse backgrounds and paths ahead are in college to work hard and succeed. The unique experiences that have brought everyone here ought to be recognized and supported. We do not benefit by making assumptions about one another, but about learning from each other, which is what all of us came here to do in the first place. There is no reason to treat anyone differently than the rest of us because each student is pursuing their own dream.
Lizet struggled to reconcile with her family in the wake of her parents’ divorce and her leaving Hialeah for college. Every development in college leads to more strain in Lizet’s relationship with her family. How is resolve possible? The extra effort that Lizet puts in to uphold her Miami life and Rawlings life is an unfair struggle that she works hard to sustain. She perseveres because of the goals she went to Rawlings to pursue, but her past cannot be erased, just as our pasts are a part of us. Not all of us are going to be venturing back and forth from college to Florida to be picking up the pieces of our life before college, maybe none of us will be. Regardless, with the first semester of university lying mere months ahead, consider that the transition does not have to be perfect and may very well be difficult for some.
Lizet was able to leave Hialeah. She may have gathered a boatload of student debt, but she had the opportunity to get a degree and do something that she loves. That is special; it is certainly not universal. Recall the confrontation between Lizet and a man at the Ariel Hernandez gathering or even the tension between her and her cousins. Lizet feels guilt for leaving and many are upset as they feel left. Moving from your home is emotionally complex and that feeling may not disappear upon arrival at college. We are coming together with an array of stories and feelings; Lizet’s, like each of ours, is one among many.