But this couldn't be further from the truth. Growing up, I had a single mom who struggled to make ends meet and provide necessary necessities for me and my two sisters, while my friends always had both parents in the picture and didn't have to worry about their monthly income. Without a father in the picture, my family has always relied on each other for support, which, I believe, has made us much closer than most families. Now that I'm old enough to realize it, it's hard to believe that my mother always put me and my sisters first; making sure we had enough food and clothes while she continued to dress me in second hand clothes. Claremont is known as "The City of Trees and Graduate Students," and compared to my friends, whose parents are professors, surgeons, and scientists who can afford to do extra work, my family's lack of financial stability has caused me to miss out on many of these activities they were able to participate in, such as school dances, amusement park days, and even simple things like getting a new outfit for the first day of