By Raquel Gonzales
Our generation was taught to grow up to believe that our dreams jobs are able to be fulfilled with a good education background. With college tuition rising, it seems as many students are second guessing whether they can fulfill their dreams. Students are finding themselves placing a hold on going to school to be able to pay tuition. Instead of being in school students are forced to juggle jobs to raise the money to go back to school. Many students in our country struggle to live these lifestyles. Rhea Gonzales with a Bachelors degree is living this lifestyle.
Rhea Gonzales is 21 years old and currently lives in Long Beach where she shares housing with her roommates. Gonzales works two jobs to juggle the pay for her college tuition for this upcoming fall. She took one year off of her college life to save up for her upcoming plans to continue in finishing her Masters to become a nurse practitioner. She has to sacrifice many things in her life now that she has two minimum waged jobs. Being a floor store manager at a restaurant and being office assistant at the Clubhouse Academy Boys and Girls Club. Her reason of having two jobs is because of how poor economy is. She says,
“With poor economy going on, it can be difficult to survive in the real world. I cannot always rely on my parents to support me. There is only so much they can pay for. I like living on my own and I pay for my own rent, groceries, and other expenses.”
Living on her own means having responsibilities she has to take care of, rent, groceries, and also having to set aside money for school. She pays rent $350 a month, which varies based on utility. To be able to survive expenses she needs to survive on her own she has to work two jobs and also having to set aside money to save for tuition for college. Even as a student it’s hard to survive on your own without a job. Having a job that’s not even your dream job are the many consequences getting to your dream. A person has to think about how to manage their money. Gonzales explains on how she manages hers.
“With the money being earned, I make sure I have enough for the bills that I have to pay. I make sure I have enough for my gas expenses as well. I spend my money wisely and avoid eating out all the time. Instead, I try to prepare my own meals and pack lunch.”
Taking care of yourself is hard to do on your own. Many students around us go through lives where money plays a big obstacle of their education. Managing on your own to follow you dreams take consequences like having two jobs or taking a break from school. This is what Rhea Gonzales is going through right now. For the many generations yet to come economy will always get in the way of our dreams.
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