Essay Realizing the Difference between a Want and a Need

My mother worked four jobs at once to make financial ends meet, while always stressing the importance of education and financial independence to my brother and myself. My grandmother only achieved a second grade education due to the financial constraints on her family at a young age, but still in the end managed to make certain that of her children and grandchildren had what was needed to flourish and become successful, educated members of the community. The tenacity and history of these two women I still carry with me today. Their struggles have inspired to me to only want more from life, but also serve as a positive role model for the younger members of my community. I observed from other family members how an education can open a multitude of doors and opportunities. I want to make the biggest and most significant on my community and on my family as possible, and the only foreseeable path is to achieve a college education to gain the necessary skills, knowledge and connections needed to flourish and implement positive

This quarter our small group chose the Coats 4 Kids organization. We were searching for an organization that involves kids, but it was very challenging to find something that worked for us. It was a challenge to find an organization that involved babysitting or tutoring or playing with kids. Some organization that we wanted to work with were, Vanessa Behan Crisis Nursery, Boys and Girls Club, Ronald McDonald House and various elementary schools. But every single organization required background checks and an extensive registration process. Eventually we choose KXLY's Coats 4 Kids. This organization was very important for me because coats are a necessity for every child. One day I was driving past an elementary school and I saw kids walking out of the school, many of them either had no coats or their coats were not zipped upped. This made me sad that so many kids were walking out into the cold with no coats. If a child doesn't have a good coat for the winter, it turns into a domino effect. They could get sick and then that would mean doctor visits. Every child deserves a coat during the winter.

As unskilled jobs become more unreliable to support families, it has become increasingly clear that the path to success in America lies with education. A majority of Americans now believe that a college education is necessary for their children, which can be contrasted with most

One’s race, gender, and economic status all play into the availability of education for them. Since equality is the basis of what the U.S. is built upon, it should be of utmost importance. However, time and time again, people of different social statuses, races, and genders, are all given different opportunities. For Beneatha, the lack of money was a big deal. Mama clarifies, “You mean… your sister’s school money… you used that too… Walter?…” (Hansberry, 129) This was enough to make Beneatha want to give up. She felt that there was no point still trying to go to college if there wasn’t enough money to pay for any of it. This just illustrates how hard it can be for people with limited pockets to get a good education. Everyone, regardless of economic status should be given equal opportunities to education under the Constitution. But that doesn’t seem to be happening, does it? In a NPR podcast, Linda Darling-Hammond is quoted as saying, “You can’t teach a child who’s chronicle hungry or cold” (Lloyd). Again, economic status keeps some individuals from getting the same education as others. Two more characteristics that harm the availability of education are race and gender. In fact, the statistics of black women compared to white women for college diplomas illustrates this inequality. In 2007, 19% of black women had college diplomas by the age of 25. On the other hand, 30% of white women had the by the same point (Conrad). It’s

Parents are starting to question of the importance of a college degree and its importance to a successful life. Society says “without college you have very little opportunity to make something of yourself” or find a well paying job… but many people have fought against those odds to pursue their dream, drop out of college and become successful doing it. Why? Because they knew what they wanted to do and college wasn't the only key to their success. Although some do receive college education, some are left with large sums of debt with a career/job that can’t pay it off like they planned. College is not the only key to success.

A common concept in today’s society is that in order to be successful you need some sort of higher education; but is this really true? Today about thirty-two percent of American’s have a bachelor’s degree or higher; compared to twenty-four percent in 2000. This number has increased due to the belief that if you get a degree you will be successful. However, what many people do not think about is what if you cannot find a job in the career path you have chosen or what if you acquire so much student debt that even your prestigious job can’t keep up.

University is something that not everyone is granted. Hundreds are blessed with having the opportunity of being able to take advantage of possibilities such as Dual Enrollment and Scholarships, yet this is not the case for everyone. On average, about 35 percent of the American population does not consist of college graduates. As stated in the article “Only 29 percent of Americans have a college degree" by Julie Yamamoto, “In February 2005, USA Today reported that 64 percent of high school graduates go to college, but the number of Americans with bachelor degrees is only 29 percent.” That is almost 1/3 of the American population who is not able to achieve a bachelor’s degree, although having assisted college previously. Quite a few have expressed

In order to find food for her family to survive, a famished woman rummages around the streets, hunts through trash bins, and asks oncoming pedestrians for food, but she has no luck and gives up hope. After searching for days and giving up hope, she wishes she would have gone to college for a better education to support her children. Millions of men, women, and teenagers suffer each day because they do not have the adequate education for finding a qualifying job. Although many people have different excuses why they did not go to college, they have the same opportunities to earn at least a two-year college degree.

With the high fuel costs affecting everything in our lives, and wages not rising to meet the challenge, it may be time to start thinking about how Christmas used to be spent. It is a time for family and friends to appreciate each other, and it does not have to be expensive. Dear friends in the early

Living in a low income household and being the first generation to go to college, it is difficult wanting to pursue a higher education because my family can’t afford the excess education I wish for. In addition, I feel lost sometimes because I don’t have anyone to turn to when I am curious about my future. Despite the struggles, it has not stopped me from pursuing a higher education. Moving towards my goals, I’ve found opportunities that help me.

“Higher education should not be a luxury. It is a necessity, an economic imperative that every family in America should be able to afford.” -Barack Obama. Isn’t it sad that many Americans can’t? Almost 70% of Americans don’t have a college degree (politifact.com) and those who do have a degree, are normally in debt. This is disappointing on numerous levels. However, there are ways and actions we can take to provide free college education across the country.

I grew up near Miami, Florida, as an only child, for quite some while, in a single-parent home, with only one source of income. In addition, as I watched my mom struggle to provide for me, I assimilated the idea that through education i would exit the cycle of poverty and that i’d be the first person in my family to go to a university to my schema for life.

According to the World Food Program (WFP), a 2013 study concluded that more than 842 million people do not currently have enough to eat. The same study showed that 98% of this figure, live in developing countries where 14.3% of the population is undernourished (World Food Program 2014). One thing certainly remains quite clear; the poor continue to pay the price in almost every single aspect of life today.

As we have seen for decades, world hunger has been a chilling epidemic affecting over 925 million people, but it has little to do with food shortages. (“World Hunger Facts”, Page 1) By definition, world hunger is the want or scarcity of food in a country (Page 1). Undernourishment affects people’s health, productivity, sense of hope, and overall well being in a negative manner. The lack of food can stunt growth, slow thinking, sap energy, hinder fetal development and contribute to mental retardation. (Page 1) Undernourished pregnant women die during birth, 315,000 mothers a year. More than half of the deaths in children in 2010 were caused by poor nutrition. That’s 3.8 million children. This year around 6 million children will die from starvation. ("Forks Over Knives | Animal Agriculture, Hunger, and How to Feed a Growing Global Population: Part One of Two.", Page 1) These statistics are unbelievable considering that the world produces one and a half

The cost of higher education is on the rise in the United States of America (USA). “Technology tends to unbundle stuff. Look how it’s unbundling television, or how it unbundled the music album. The college degree is a bundle that doesn’t work for everybody and creates unnatural market conditions, which is why college costs consistently rise faster than inflation.” (Newsweek) The cost of higher education tuition is skyrocketing throughout the USA. Imagine being a lower class family, both you and your spouse have full time jobs and just one of your children’ wants to pursue a higher education at a university. This is going to cost more than seventy percent of your yearly income, but it’s a gamble that may break the poverty cycle or may end you leaving you worse off. This is the choice that about ninety percent of the population in the USA is forced to contemplate. The struggle is real and the idea of assuming such a enormous financial burden causes so many to forgo the pursuit of higher education because of what it will do their families. So what is the impact of not obtaining a college degree? Sadly, by 2020 it is estimated that a lack of a college degree will automatically exclude a person from applying to over sixty percent of jobs. This will also drive a gigantic wedge into society by polarizing the rich from the poor and creating a larger societal gap.