This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at UC Irvine chapter.

I find it quite bizarre that there was a time in my life when I did not even know the meaning of “first generation.”

The earliest memory I have of the word is during high school when students were asked to fill out a survey. One of the questions asked us to bubble in next to each word that we identified with. I, knowing nothing about the word, did not fill it in. My teacher, who obviously was aware of my academic background and family, asked me why I did not fill that bubble in. Naively I answered, I do not know what the term means. She responded, “ a person identifies as a first-generation student if neither of your parents has a four-year college degree or if the student only receives support from one parent, who does not have a four-year college degree.”

Being merely a sixteen-year-old who thankfully had not yet dealt with the college application process or the wrath of doing FAFSA (also a quick reminder for those who still have not completed FAFSA, do it!) for the first time by yourself, I did not think much of it. I bubbled in the circle and went about my day. However, as I grew more as a student and began to see college and higher education as an option for myself, the word has transformed into my personal identity. It’s who I am.

For many people, the actual part of coming to college is intimidating and fairly so. For me, I quickly realized the difficulty of higher education before it even began. Whether it was figuring out how to submit college applications, or filling out FAFSA with an immigrant father who has zero patience, being a first-generation student ain’t no joke.

The first challenge that I encountered as I started college was dealing with family conflicts and guilt. Being the first member of your family to enter this completely new world, there are times when it gets extremely isolating. Leaving behind your family to go to such privileged spaces and experiences feels extremely selfish on my part. I still struggle with this every single day.

In addition to that, academic and financial challenges are a whole different story. Having no one to confide in, it becomes extremely difficult to navigate so many spheres of life at once. And if by some magic, you do get out of that shell, the lovely imposter syndrome lingers around you like it is your own shadow.

To put it quite bluntly, being a first-generation student almost feels like it is my weakness. However, after almost four years since I first learned the term, I can happily say that I have grown. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not all a rosy picture and it would be quite unfair for me to put it that way. However, I have learned to use my “weakness” to my advantage. And I hope with this, I can help fellow first-generation students as well.

My biggest advice would be to have conversations and utilize resources. When I have felt like my identity is an enigma, having conversations with people has made me understand that I am not alone. Hearing other people’s experiences has immensely helped me make sense of mine. Along with that, I am very glad that I chose UCI because the resources available to me have been one of the most important reasons for my success as a student.

Everyone reading this, you deserve to be here. It was not a stroke of luck or some other magic, it was your will and determination that brought you here. You have a right to these resources, so please never hesitate to take advantage of them. Below I have listed down all the resources available to you at UC Irvine, as well as other resources that have personally helped me immensely. I hope you can make use of them and if you have any questions, please feel free to email me at saleenad@uci.edu