A First-Generation College Students Story
April 3, 2024
Getting through college is a difficult task for everyone. From personal experience, I can say it’s especially hard for those of us who didn’t have our parents to guide us through the process.
For my first blog post, I want to tell my story.
I grew up in Oxnard, California and was raised by my parents, both immigrants from Michoacán, Mexico. I’m the second oldest of four kids, and the only girl. Yes, it was hell. Not really, but sometimes it was. Everyone always asks me if my brothers are super protective of me and that couldn’t be farther from the truth. As much as they annoy me, I like being the only girl. I’ve never had to share clothes or any other personal items.
Both of my parents, before moving to Oxnard, lived in a small town in Michoacán called El Cuervo. They grew up poor and with many siblings. My mom has nine siblings and my dad has six. Since they had such a big family, it was always more important to have enough money rather than being sent to school. Both my parents didn’t go past the 6th grade because they were pulled from school to work. While they look back now and wish they continued school, they understand they didn’t have a choice.
My parents
I believe this is the reason why they always pushed me and my siblings to go to school. If it wasn’t for them, I probably would’ve just worked after graduating high school in 2020. I’ve always wanted to make them proud, so I always tried my best in school. In high school, I joined AVID because I had heard that class taught students how to get to college. I needed all the help I could get considering I didn’t have my parents to walk me through the college application process.
I was in AVID all four years of high school and I’m really grateful for what I learned in that class. They taught me everything about FAFSA, the SAT, and college credit. By them time college applications came around, I felt prepared and ready. Cal State Long Beach was my first choice and when I got accepted, I was very proud of myself. I was the first out of my siblings to get accepted into a four year university right out of high school.
I started in August 2020 as a pre-Interior Design major and studied that for three semesters. I took a year break after that because I began struggling with my mental health, like a lot of people did during the pandemic. I was diagnosed with OCD when I was about eight years old and struggled with it ever since. During the pandemic, it got much worse and began affecting my ability to focus in school, so I decided to take a break. I’m very grateful my parents supported me through that hard time because I was very hard on myself for taking that leave of absence. I felt like a failure. I felt like I was letting my parents down.
During that year break, I started therapy and began working on myself. I remember feeling embarrassed when friends or family asked me how school was going and I would tell them I wasn’t in school at the moment. Looking back, I wish I wasn’t. I wish I took pride in admitting I wasn’t doing okay mentally and seeking help. Ever since then, I’ve been a huge advocate for mental health awareness and being more open about the things we struggle with.
My mom, my brothers, and I (my dad took the picture).
When registration for Spring 2023 classes came around, I decided to switch my major to pre-Film. I’ve always loved movies and wondered what it took to create them. After taking a few classes, I felt like it wasn’t the right fit for me. Film was still a big interest of mine, but something else was calling my name. I had heard about Public Relations and began to research more about it. I learned how important PR is and I felt like it was something I could do. While I’m no longer a film major, I’m glad I tried it out rather than not giving myself the chance.
I’m now in my second semester of being a PR major and I’m loving it. I’ve made some great connections and had very interesting classes. If everything goes well, I’ll be graduating next spring in 2025. Without the support of my parents, I wouldn’t be where I am today and for them I’m extremely grateful. I’m glad I’m able to show them how their decision to move to a different country 37 years ago was the right thing to do. They’ve given my brothers and I so much and one day I hope to repay them.
My parents have given me the opportunity to pursue higher education and now I’m able to guide my siblings if they want to do the same. I’m proud to be a first-generation student and make a change in my family’s history. I will soon begin my professional career journey and I’m very excited to do so.
Thank you for taking the time to read my story!
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