Installment 2
By: Keyle Pacaja
As an only child of immigrant parents, financial struggles were also a part of the problem. Not only did they work long hours they also tried to give me everything that they can, but money and financial issues were always there. My parents didn’t understand that most people that received an education in the United States saved their money for their future kids or had an account in the bank to fall back on. That was not the situation in this case. I always had to make sure I had my own money because I wanted to learn responsibility and not be a burden to them. At the age of fourteen, I was already working and buying my own things as well as helping out in the house but, I didn’t have enough to save up for college. This was because I would always help my mom with things around the house or I had to use it for myself. One thing I would like to say is seeing my parents work forty hours plus a week made me reflect and notice the things they were doing for me and the sacrifices they made.
I remember I had a conversation with my dad about college expenses and what am I going to do in the future. At the time I didn’t know anything about the FASFA and other awards they would give out to students to use towards college. My dad didn’t know anything about these awards either, but he tried his best to understand. When it came to the money issues, I didn’t want him to worry because I could tell he wanted to help me in any way possible. That conversation made me realize I didn’t want to put my dad in a situation where he had to work until he is eighty. I knew I wanted to take all the responsibility of financials upon myself. I knew my parents wanted me to dream big and not let money be the problem. But, as always, money was the problem in my family, and even though they didn’t talk about it in front of me I always had this guilt that I was a burden to them. I want my parents to live their dreams and not worry about money as they do for me.
Even though I was facing this struggle, my high school counselor was the biggest help along with my history teacher. I remember we arranged a meeting, and I asked them what I should do to get a good financial package or even an award. They gave me ideas on how to do some research about scholarships and other awards for first-generation students and those were good ideas to look into. As for the other part when it came to financial aid in colleges, I would have to see my option and pick the one that would provide me with the best financial aid package. I had applied to five or six colleges, and I was doing some as a “what if” college and others for the best benefits that would suit me. Even though it took me a while to understand some terms, I had an idea of what to do from what I was learning. The hardest part was to explain these ideas to my parents and see if they at least understood the things I learned.
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