SEAHO Report - Fall 2019 - 11

SEAHO Feature Articles
It's a Different World: From the Trailer Park to the Ivory Tower
Amanda Morales, Queens University of Charlotte
My earliest memory regarding the concept of college was watching a show called It's A Different World.
Sprawled out on the floor in the living room of my family's single-wide trailer in rural South Carolina, I learned
about college for the first time through the eyes of Dwayne Wayne, Ron, Denise, Jalessa, Mr. Gaines, Whitley,
and everyone else who attended or worked at Hillman College.
I think what first intrigued me about the show was the theme song, belted out by Aretha Franklin. In one version
of the opening credits, the action starts by panning over students partaking in all kinds of activities; laughing,
marching, studying, playing sports, stepping and more. It showed a place where people were learning and
happy. "It's a different world (ooh ooh), than where you come from, yes, it is now, yeah!"
My world of dirt roads, generational poverty, lack of healthcare, limited educational access, and childhood
memories that could have come from Southern Gothic novels, was drastically different from the one portrayed
on the show. Their world fascinated me. My world, well... was different.
The biggest thing that drew me to the show-and the idea of college-was that everyone there seemed to care
about school and thought that getting a good education was important. Serving as my respite, school was a place
where teachers were kind, meals were good, books were everywhere, friends were made, and roaches were
limited. My teachers taught me that there was a vast world outside of my one-stoplight town. I also learned that,
if I did well, I could go to a college like Hillman and get out of said one-stoplight town.
Move-in day at college was a momentous and terrifying experience. Stacked on top of the high expectations of
my family as the first person to go to college was the fear of failure. Before I ever entered a classroom, I was
convinced that, because of who I was and where I was from, I stood no chance. How could trailer park trash
compete with classmates whose parents (and grandparents and everyone else in their family) had attended
college and landed jobs with insurance and retirement plans? Classmates who bought their books without
having to wait on refund checks. Classmates with more than a week's worth of clothes. Classmates who didn't
bring their extended family (aka the many roaches that found their way into the few bags and boxes I'd packed)
on move-in day. Classmates who walked around campus with confidence in where they were, what they were
doing, and how they were doing it.
The Ivory Tower, as it turned out, was a beast to be reckoned with. It was vastly different from the TV show
that initially inspired my journey there. Every other semester I changed my major. I actually had to study to get
good grades (who knew?). Everything was expensive. An eating disorder and dealing with past hurts impacted
my work. There was a period during college when, looking back, I struggled long and hard with binge drinking.
I waited too long to check out the counseling center and didn't find out I could get food stamps until my senior
year. Fear-based procrastination and imposter syndrome kicked my entire ass. I ended up temporarily quitting
at one point. Not because of grades or anything. I just didn't believe in myself. I was also physically exhausted
from four jobs and a full load of classes.
Somehow, at the same time, I thrived in college. When I returned to college after a hiatus of waitressing and
cleaning toilets to save money to go back, I limited myself to two or three jobs. I became an RA and took on
leadership roles in various campus organizations. Though barely, sometimes, I always kept my GPA above
a 3.0. I traveled and learned and partied and made some of the best friends I've ever known. I even messed
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SEAHO Report Fall 2019

SEAHO Report - Fall 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of SEAHO Report - Fall 2019