I am a student at Brooklyn College. I use public transportation to get to school and it is always late and sometimes the machine to refill my pass is broken. During finals week, I was 10-15 minutes late. The bus is always late. It would take forever at stops, and I even woke up early. Two buses even passed me and didn’t stop at all. If metrocards were even a little cheaper, like $60 or $70 instead of $120, the savings would add up annually. It would be one less stress to think about.

Starting this year, I have to pay off my last year in tuition for undergrad. I know many students in the same predicament as me find it very hard to balance work and school, and managing living without financial support from parents has been incredibly tough. The burden of having student loans while actively trying to live on your own, go to school full time and work full time is draining and extremely hard. My mental health and physical health have deteriorated, the loans are equivalent to a looming shadow that encompasses all aspects of my health. My jobs entail working at a physical therapy clinic as an aide, as well as, as a security/front desk receptionist for Shore View Nursing and Rehabilitation; these jobs are very demanding and require a lot of energy. If I were to lose any of my jobs I would end up homeless, unable to pay my student loans, and would probably fail or drop my classes. Having to choose whether you can get an education or have enough food to eat shouldn’t be a problem in our country and it disappoints me that we cannot do more to fix such issues. I think we should fight against this unfairness and allow students to focus more on achieving their goals in education rather than burdening them with debt. Even if I do not reap the benefits of student loan forgiveness, I hope that my impact makes a change for the coming generations.