The thought of owing that much the moment I stepped into the real world made me sick.
"Tuition is only six thousand. You can spend a sixth of that on sneakers for him, but you can't pay for my school?"
"Because you can't give him six thousand, you'd rather not give me anything either?"
"Mom, have you completely lost your mind?"
The tears came before I could stop them.
I grabbed a calculator and punched in numbers frantically, but every result only made it worse.
Money.
I had no money.
If I refused to take out loans, I'd have to work part-time through every summer, every winter break, every spare hour between classes.
Juggling coursework and earning enough to survive.
I wouldn't have a single moment in college to breathe, let alone enjoy myself.
No matter how I looked at it, it was hopeless.
But my mother had the money. She could afford my tuition. She just couldn't give me tuition without having an equal amount to hand my brother.
The scales wouldn't balance.
So she decided not to give me anything at all.
I broke down sobbing.
I grabbed her hand and begged for the tuition money.
Dorothy sighed, her voice heavy with exhaustion.