Is college right for me? In high school, I didn't think so. My mom was like you need to go to college, blah, blah, blah - but toward the end she said just do whatever you want. So I said fine, if it doesn't matter that much to you, I won't go.

I went into construction, but I was just living paycheck to paycheck. Then my mom went back to college to get a nursing degree. I started looking at my life and decided if she could do it, then so could I.

I wish I wouldn't have lost those two years out of school. I could be a junior by now. Students should definitely take high school academics more seriously. I wish I would have. I took stupid classes just to get credit. My mom wanted me to take physics, but to me it was just useless knowledge. If I had taken it today, I would be more confident and wouldn't be ignorant, like a slacker mentality.

But how do you get through to a sixteen year old and give teenage advice that she'll hear? Every family is different, but I think what would have worked for me is if I had been given a positive picture of what I could get out of college. To help me understand what it's like living paycheck to paycheck. To help me want it for myself as a way to achieve dreams, instead of just saying I had to do it. For people who are low- and middle-income it also helps when adults set an example, like my mom did.

 

Carol Crowe is a Freshman, studying Business and Sports Marketing at Lansing Community College.