Why I Dropped Out of College

Confronting My Own Bias

I had a very wealthy uncle (great-grand-uncle) who promised me and my cousins a free ride to any university we wanted. All we had to do was get good enough grades to be accepted. I wasn’t a very good high school student when it came to grades. As an average student, I ended up going to a community college. However, once I got into Miami Dade College, I did really well. I ended up making the Dean’s list quite a few times.

My great-uncle came to this wealth by a struck of luck, literally. He won the lottery in the late 80s, only a few short years after tragically losing his only son. It was just him and his wife and their millions.

My two cousins never made it past high school, so I was the only one in my family who was holding on to that promise made by this millionaire relative. Once my two years at community college were up, I only wanted to go to one school and that was the University of Miami. I applied and I got in. I was elated when I received my acceptance letter. I qualified for financial aid and had scholarship money. That still wouldn’t cover the full cost of tuition, but I had my uncle’s promise, so I enrolled.

I did really well. I nearly had a 4.0 GPA that first year. Unfortunately, that was my only year at UM. My uncle rescinded his promise and his support. The financial burden would have been too much for me and I dropped out of school. It felt like all my dreams had collapsed. Honestly, I felt lost. No one in my family had done this before and so I thought I had no guidance.  

By that time I had been working in the public library system for a while, so that became my career path for a few years. Within a few short years I got promoted to the highest position one can achieve without a Bachelor’s or Master’s in Library Science. It was a good job, but I still only had my Associate’s Degree and my family had sacrificed so much to get me to this country.

Eventually, I moved to the Midwest and at the age of 29, I enrolled in college again. Three years later I graduated with honors. It wasn’t the most ideal trajectory to finally achieve my goal, but I’m glad I did it. It was a personal victory, but it also felt good to accomplish something that seemed out of reach. My great-uncle’s sudden change of mind, after years of promises, affected me more than I imagined.

To this day, I have an instant distrust of wealthy people. I could come across the kindest and sweetest person, but the moment I learn that they’re wealthy, something in me shuts down and I become distant. I know that’s not fair. Logically, I know that this bias is not a good thing to have. I know that I should treat people equally and judge them and their intentions based on their actions, not on what car they drive or how big their house is. I’m trying. I really am. I suppose that the first step of fixing a problem is to admit that you have one. Isn’t that what the experts say?

To be fair, this one experience is not the only reason why I distrust wealthy people. Being raised for years by a hippie uncle also added fuel to the fire of disapproval. If one day I were to become wealthy due to my writing, well, that would be an interesting conundrum (one that I would gladly and bravely take on, I may add).

Are there any biases that you are aware of within yourself? What have you done or plan to do about that?

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