Growing up in Montgomery, Alabama, there weren't many expectations for young, Black girls like myself. In fact, most people in my childhood neighborhoods didn't finish high school, so their futures were already severely limited. I was part of a very strict religion that discouraged me from going to college, so for the longest time, I tried convincing myself to be satisified with a simple, basic life and try not to set goals and dreams.
Since my parents divorced when I was a baby, I grew up with my mother and brother, and we struggled a lot when it came to money. Therefore, once I gradauted high school, I left to live on my own and not stress my mother any longer. I worked as a server in different restaurants for a few years when one day, one of my high school teachers reached out to me and encouraged me to go to college. I hesitated since I never pictured myself in higher education before, but he simply told me: "Just see what happens." So in August 2012, at 22 years old, I started college at Auburn University at Montgomery in Alabama, studying history and theater.
My time at AUM opened so many doors for me! Although I had to juggle going to class and balancing three, sometimes four, jobs, some of my professors noticed my efforts.
