"You're still in school?" My family doesn't understand why my essay takes so long

[LaraFlores]

Family dinner last night. My aunt asks how school is going. I say it's good, working on a big essay. She looks confused and says, "But mija, you were working on an essay last month. Is it the same one?"

I tried to explain. Research. Outlining. Drafting. Revising. Citations. She nodded but her eyes glazed over. Later I heard her tell my mom, "She's still in school? I thought she'd be done by now."

They don't get it. In their world, you work, you finish, you get paid. School is just endless. I'm the first in my family to go to college. I'm proud of that. But the gap between my world and theirs keeps growing.

Any other first-gens feel this? How do you bridge the gap?

 

[UlaCopp]

omg Lara, the "mija" in your post already tells me everything . My tía says the same thing. "¿Todavía en la escuela?" Like yes, Tía, this is how it works. I think for our families, education was a privilege to get, not a process to live. They worked so we could be here, but they didn't know the waiting room was this long.

Honestly? I just hug my mom and say "casi termino, mami" and leave it at that. Some gaps you bridge with love, not words.