A First Generation College Graduate

A first generation latina

Making it out the ‘hood

And attending a prestigious university.

She comes back home, 

With a degree in hand,

Walking the streets

That tried to trap her.

Myth.

Fictitious. 

Not possible. 

People chant proudly

About first generation

Minority students. 

But the sad reality is, 

Many don’t make it past their first year

At university. 

They’re coming from underfunded,

Underrepresented, 

Underperforming, 

And overlooked

High schools and communities. 

The reality is, 

Their school never intended 

For them to go to college, 

Especially one as hard,

Or as decorated

As the one they chose.

But we all dream.

We have to see for ourselves, 

If this is fake.

We chanted “Bloody Mary”

In the darkness of our bathroom, 

Unsure if the frightening legend 

Would be true. 

So we go to college, 

Navigating through our four

Or five years

In darkness, 

Unsure if we’ll make it out alive.