At family dinner, Dad asked if my allowance was enough. When I said, “What allowance?” his face went white. I’m Logan.
I’m nineteen years old and just started studying medicine in New York City. Originally from Texas, my parents live in Dallas where my dad works as a surgeon at a university hospital and my mom takes care of our home. After finishing high school, I moved to New York four months ago to live on my own.
I worked hard and got into medical school in July, inspired by my dad, but I haven’t been able to enjoy typical college life. I wanted to make friends, join clubs, and have fun, but money has been tight. My parents pay my tuition, but I have to handle all my other expenses.
Apart from classes, I’ve taken on jobs like tutoring, event staffing, and working at a bar. Even with these jobs, it’s been hard to make ends meet each month with rent and living costs. I often switch between jobs to fit my schedule and work mostly on weekends.
It’s been tough both mentally and physically. I get tired in class, and when I come home late, I struggle to find the energy to study. I’m worried I might have to repeat the year because I’m falling behind in my classes.
If things keep going like this, I won’t be able to focus on my studies, which are supposed to be my main priority. I felt anxious and desperate, so I called my mom to ask for some financial help, even if it was just a little. My dad is rarely home because of his busy job, so my mom handles the finances.
Even though my dad earns a good income, my mom said they didn’t have extra money and that paying for my tuition was already hard, so they couldn’t send me any more money. With that answer, I felt stuck. Most of my friends who live on their own get financial help from their parents, and I envy them.
But I decided to keep working hard at my jobs. When I think about it, growing up, things were always different between me and my sister, Olivia. She’s twenty‑one now, studying fashion design at a prestigious school in Paris.
While I was always expected to work hard and earn my achievements, things seemed to come easily to Olivia. Mom always called her my golden sister, the one with a special touch, the one destined for great things. Don’t get me wrong, I love my sister, but the difference in how we were treated was hard to ignore.
I remember when we were younger, around ten and twelve, I brought home straight A’s on my report card. Mom glanced at it and said, “That’s what we expect from you, Logan.” The same day, Olivia brought home mostly B’s with a couple of C’s, and Mom threw her a small celebration, praising her artistic mind and saying academics just weren’t her thing. Dad seemed uncomfortable with the disparity, but never said much about it.
When midterm exams came, I hadn’t studied enough, and as expected, I had to take retests. I managed to finish the retests in August and then started my summer vacation. I planned to work as many jobs as I could during the long break to earn as much money as possible.
After the summer break, I planned to focus more on my studies, so I was going to reduce my work shifts. This meant I needed to save even more money, so I decided to cut back on my living expenses. For meals, I would save by eating instant noodles, bread, and discounted prepackaged meals.
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