Lost Diamonds: How our current system is failing underprivileged talent
This article had me in tears. I grew up so poor I often didn&#x27;t have shoes and wore dollar-store flip flops in the winter.<p>Deadbeat dad, opiate addict mother. I was shuffled constantly from relative to relative, friend&#x27;s house to friend&#x27;s house. I had some very supportive teachers, including one who paid for my AP tests and SATs. I got an offer to a university in the UC system. Life was looking up!<p>In the last semester of my senior year, my stepmom kicked me out of my dad&#x27;s house. I shuffled back and forth between friends&#x27; houses, too embarrassed to explain the situation to an adult. I had to sleep rough a few times and got pneumonia from not having a whooping cough vaccination. I coughed so hard my ribs cracked. I missed a class where I had to turn in a midterm, my teacher wouldn&#x27;t accept it late (&quot;you kids always make up excuses&quot;), I couldn&#x27;t get a doctor&#x27;s note because I hadn&#x27;t been to the doctor. Welp, failed the class. The university rescinded my admission for the failed grade. I lost all my scholarships. I ended up bouncing around homeless shelters for a few months while I recovered my health.<p>Eventually, I went to community college, transferred to a top 10 university. Now I work at Amazon as an SDE and make well over six figures. Happy ending, right? Well, no -- for years, I blamed myself for &quot;blowing&quot; that university opportunity. I felt horrible. I felt so ashamed.