Hustle Mentality - Believe the future can be better than the present
My identities play a huge factor in how I view money and the relationship I have built with it. As a Filipinx, low-income, first-generation college student, I had the world telling me I wouldn’t be “successful” (though I believe there are multitudes of definitions of success, I’m specifically referring to the acquisition of money/wealth here). Today, I’ll be sharing with you what this relationship looks like by going through my own personal journey. Let’s goooooo!
High School
I grew up in a single-parent, single-income home with two younger siblings. We lived paycheck to paycheck and I knew my own personal desires were not going to be an easy journey to take on. So with that, I hustled. Hustled in the only way I knew how and was able to. Here is what I learned:
Understand your circumstances, your want/desires, and where you want to go
Ask questions and seek out people willing to answer
Seek out resources
Act on everything you learned
Keep your faith high
What does all that mean exactly? Well, since I was the oldest and had to care for my younger siblings, I understood that I couldn’t take on a part-time job to obtain $$$. I knew my want was to go to college, and I began seeking out those who would support me through this process: teachers, counselors, community members, college advisors, etc. Anyone that was willing to provide me with knowledge, resources, or ideas that would help lead me to my want.
So how does that tie into money? Even though I wasn’t able to do the traditional “save and get what you want” strategy during this time in my life, I was able to leave high school with approx. $8,000 worth of scholarships (the $$ I needed) to start off my venture into college (my want).
Post-Secondary: Undergraduate & Graduate School
Once I began my post-secondary school journey, my hustle mentality didn’t end and neither did my points that I mentioned above. I was no longer relying financially on my mother because this time, I was able to get a part-time job (BONUS point!). So naturally, I talked to people, seeking out resources and knowledge that I could use to enable me to achieve my objectives. By now, I was also gaining some cash and needed desperately to quickly learn some saving habits.
I’m not going to sit here and tell you that you need to save, because you’ve probably already heard that thousands of times. It’s a saying that is so overused, you probably started rolling your eyes as soon as I mentioned it. So instead, I’ll say this: saving is damn hard but worth it in the end. Did your eyes roll? Probably, but hear me out. Being broke is hard right? Well so is establishing financial freedom. It’s damn hard. All the excel sheets, all the hours put into research, budgeting (what even is that), seeking out support, and just the act of saving, it’s all a drag but trust me when I say, I understand your pain. It’s painful yes, but I was tired of being broke.
I was tired of being uncertain, tired of asking myself
“Can I afford this bagel?”
“Can I really afford this shirt?”
“Should I just stay in this weekend?”
So instead, I chose and decided to save what I could, when I could. So even though I’m not going to tell you to save, I am challenging you to at least think about saving so you never have to ask yourself if everything would crumble if you bought that bagel.
Why am I so persistent in sharing the points I made above and about developing saving habits you might ask? (Or not, that’s okay too) Because with all the built up skills and knowledge I gained from the beautiful people around me, I was able to graduate school with just $5,000 in debt!
And Beyond
I was blessed to acquire a full-time job post-grad school and here I was thinking “YAAASS it’s finally time to buy the ish I couldn’t before, and spend, spend, speeeeennndd.” Why? Because I could ... But if you’ve lived in a low-income household, you are all too familiar with fear. The fear of eviction notices, the fear of a parent losing a job, the fear of losing everything. That fear of never knowing what the next day will look like will bring you back to reality and quickly. For me, this ‘fear’ fueled my decision to achieve financial independence and my next goal kicked into gear. I paid off my debt as quickly as I could and spent the next few months drowning in excel sheets, talking to people, doing research, keeping up my faith, and then I did it. I acted on my next goal.... I became a homeowner at 23, just 6 months out of graduate school.
The Journey Continues On
I tell these stories because I believe in the power of storytelling as a form of empowerment. I was beaten down by society, by the media, by statistics, and even by some of the people closest to me. Told that with my identities, I wouldn’t be able to be successful or, it would be a hard journey to take. Now I can say, I proved them all wrong. I want nothing more than our future students, and leaders, voices who have been told they couldn’t, to know they could and prove those who doubt them wrong. So go ahead babes, be curious, go learn, gather information, seek out support, think about saving, and thrive.
So if I could sum this story up for you in just a few sentences, I’d say this:
You are worth everything you set your heart and mind to, so don’t let others bring you down, and keep those who lift you up
Understand your desires and hustle hard to get to whatever that may be
Be the person you wish to be, even if it’s hard, even if it takes everything in your power to be that person, do it, because then everything will fall into place
The journey doesn’t end and you have the power to create your own story
