On April 20th my apartment of 10 years burned down in a mere few minutes. Seeing the collection of things you’ve had from a teenager into adulthood, gone so quickly was numbing. It was hard grasp that it actually happened and months later I still am in denial that my life was irrevocably changed. Before that, I was enrolled to start summer classes at Teachers College, Columbia University and the joys of being the first one in my family to pursue a masters degree was quickly diminished realizing that I now had an added expense of recentering my life after the fire. My focus was off, I knew I had started summer classes qualify for the grad plus loans but I failed to follow through because my mind was elsewhere. Now a week into my classes and a looming amount of money I due; I am stuck figuring out how I can graduate from this program and continue to break generational barriers. I’m truly just a girl trying to carve space in the world big enough to fit me. My Cashapp is $TahiraJessop