You are poor. You are lucky. You are going to struggle.
Among all the important, relevant information I needed about life in college, those were the three lasting impressions I got from orientation. All the exciting and fun activities do not come to mind. Instead, I think about all the little things that happened in between that I ignored in the moment that continued to haunt me throughout my time in college.
Students like me, who had to attend a summer bridge program to prepare them for the academic year, are not ready for the influx of wealthy peers and their parents who, intentionally or not, remind you that the school was not meant for you.
When the RA calls a meeting to have residents introduce themselves and you find out that almost everyone traveled to places you have never heard of while you went to summer school, you begin to feel unprepared.
When peers that did not travel talk about internships before you even knew what internships were, you begin to feel behind.
When you notice that mostly everyone is wearing a specific type of shoe and carries a specific type of book bag, you begin to feel like you don’t belong.
When some financial aid form wasn’t filled out correctly and you are told to go to the registrar’s office to handle your bursar bill because your registration is on hold, but you do not know what a registrar, a bursar, or a registration hold are, you begin to feel like you are not ready.
