Mastering the Language of Money by Alexandria

Mastering the Language of Money by Alexandria - April 2026 Scholarship Essay

It wasn't a bank teller or a finance class that taught me the value of a dollar; it was the sense of relief that poured over me when I arrived at my grandparents house in Oklahoma, bags in hand, enrolled in a college I had no way of paying for and they sat me down and told me they had been saving money since I was young for my college fund. I would still need a few loans, but their sacrifice meant I got a chance at attending college. Their only condition was that I pay my own rent, utilities, etc. because what they had saved was enough to get me through college, but not enough to pay for a college house or the other bills that came along with it.
My undergraduate college journey was a rough road. I attended the University of Central Oklahoma for a year and a half on out-of-state tuition before my grandparents sat me down again and explained that I would drain everything if I did not get in-state tuition. I then made the tough decision to leave school and fight for in-state tuition, not knowing if I would ever be approved or even go back to college after taking this time off. I worked for a full year in Oklahoma and changed everything I needed to so that I could petition for in-state tuition when I was finally approved after being denied three times prior. I then transferred to Oklahoma State University, worked 4-5 days a week and graduated in May of 2024.
I am now facing the financial struggle of getting a Master’s Degree in Senior High Education so I can teach high school English. I want to make a difference, but even that comes at a price. I work full-time and still struggle to make ends meet while trying to budget for everyday bills along with paying student loans and credit cards that got out of hand due to a family emergency. My question is how can our future generations plan for real life when financial literacy is not taught in our schools? I plan to master the language of money by developing a monthly budget for myself while still trying to start an emergency savings fund. I hope to find good books to read about the differences between “good” and “bad” debt so that I can maintain my credit card usage and use them in the best way possible to build my credit. Once I have my finances in check, I then plan to educate myself in the world of investing. All of these small steps will hopefully push me in the right direction so that when I am blessed with children I can give them the same and hopefully better opportunities than what I had and to teach them the true meaning of a dollar. Truthfully, financial literacy is not a one-time task, but a lifelong journey that pays dividends long after the first budget is created.