And You Thought Dorm Living Was Bad?

by Shannon Moriarty · 2009-12-08 19:02:00 UTC
Topics:

It's the home stretch... finals season! For many students -- myself included -- this means all-nighters, bottomless cups of coffee, and mounds of stress. But think you have it tough?

Try pulling an all-nighter in a crowded homeless shelter. Or sleeping with your book bag under your pillow so your textbooks aren't stolen. Or getting a good nights sleep before an exam in a noisy emergency homeless shelter.

These are just some of the challenges faced by the homeless college students profiled in today's Washington Post. Their determination to get through college is incredible, but their journeys to college are no less inspiring. These college students faced unimaginable challenges as kids, such as being raised in the foster system or growing up in neighborhoods riddled with drugs and gangs.

If you're looking for a little inspiration to fight your way through finals, think about the perseverance it takes to tackle college while homeless.

Image: Pragmagraphrs

Shannon Moriarty has worked in various homeless shelters and service organizations around the country. She is a graduate student studying housing and urban policy at Tufts University.
PREVIOUS STORY:
Despite Challenging Past, Hope for a Better Future
NEXT STORY:
Sallie Mae Blinks!

COMMENTS (2)

    Comment Policy

    · All fields are required to comment.

    [X]

    Comments on Change.org are meant for further exploration and evaluation of the campaign on Change.org. To that end, we welcome constructive comments. However, we reserve the right to delete comments which, as determined solely in our discretion: (1) are offensive, abusive, or off-topic; (2) include content solely intended to personally attack the campaign creator, (3) are designed to subvert or hijack comment threads rather than contribute to them; and/or (4) violate our terms of service and/or privacy policy. Repeat offenders may be permanently removed from the site at our discretion. Please also be advised that: (A) we do not actively curate and/or monitor in any manner whatsoever the comments made on the Change.org platform, and (B) the creator of each campaign on Change.org may remove any comment at her/his/its discretion.