Vitality Stories

photo by Gretchen LeMay Photography

How To Pay Off Debt With Heart

Sometimes it takes a village

In Tiger Drive, Carrie Sloan is seventeen and knows college is her only way out of her neighborhood and away from her toxic parents and absent, older siblings. She is conflicted about leaving her two little brothers behind, but believes breaking free from the family mold is the best thing she can do for them. But even without the family’s secrets and choices complicating her every move, Carrie won’t be able to pursue her education without financial aid and she is determined to write a winning scholarship essay.

While Tiger Drive is fiction, I can relate to Carrie and the obstacles she faces and I drew from personal feelings to write her. At seventeen, I was a senior in high school and supporting myself with two jobs after school and on the weekends. If not for a Pell Grant and a generous Continue reading →