Daija Oaks

Braxton Caldwell
Harper Elder
My mother had me when she was 13, three years later, my dad left while she was
pursuing a degree in nursing. Forcingher to work at a call center, while having school and
children to take care of during the day. She persevered through this with the false impression
that college would be her light at the tunnel of stress and burn out. Instead, she was met with
hundreds of thousands of dollars of crippling debt with eight children to feed, still working that
call center job. That college degree was useless in raising her wages, and for her, was the
wrong choice. My mom is an individual human with individual needs, and college is marketed as
a one-size fits all, she was falsely convinced it would fit her bruised and fertile body. College
impregnated her with debt. For her, many other options, such as just working, would be much
more suitable for her. Unfortunately, many children are peer-pressured into going to college and
taking out massive loans. Students need to be aware of options other than college so they do
not end in massive debt, regretting their decisions and have the best outcome for what fits their
life and their future.