I always feel inadequate no matter what I do.

Melissawilliams
Tue, 13 May 2014 20:31:33 +0000

hi there. I just read through your post, and I was touched by your story. I’m extremely sorry for your loss, and as for your home-life, I can only pray that things get better for you.

First off, don’t compare yourself to your peers. Ever. Who cares if so and so is at Harvard? I highly doubt that any of them had nearly as difficult a journey as you have. Your story is one of those that you hear on TV, from a super famous/accomplished person, and you can hardly believe its true. Don’t give up in school. Perhaps you can do a work-study arrangement and balance work and school.

It’s obvious that your very smart and can perform well when you aren’t sidetracked with a million other responsibilities. Push yourself as hard as you can to make your academics your priority - an education is the best bet to ensure you’ll never be on the streets. Simply graduating from college is a tremendous achievement. And if you turn around your GPA and really tell your story, you’d be surprised, perhaps you could get into grad school at one of the schools your friends go to.

One last thing - i’ve seen lots of fundraising campaigns from students like you, on Indiegogo or GoFundMe. If you tell your story (perhaps upload a video) and really get personal, I’m sure people would donate. I know that it sucks to ask for money, and is a definite blow to the pride, but sometimes you gotta know when you need help.

This quote from Harriet Beecher Stowe pretty much sums it up: “When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you, till it seems as though you could not hold on a minute longer, never give up then, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn.”

TL;DR Don’t give up! You are definitely not inadequate and never will be.