My school journey was filled with a couple of mishaps and misunderstandings.

When I first tried to apply to high school, I wanted to choose Bard Early College because after two years of college-level work while in high school, I would have been able to graduate early. But I completely bumbled the interview. Somehow, the lights turned off in the hallway we were interviewing after another worker left which left the room me, and the interviewer completely dark.

In a rush of a few seconds that felt like forever, I thought the door was locked as I tried to open it to no avail. So I reached over to the computer to try to turn it on so there would be at least a little bit of light but I couldn’t find the on button. After trying to explain myself hecticly, to my surprise, the interviewer was able to open the door and turn on the lights. I had to go back to my seat and sat there thinking how dumb I was. I never knew if it was the interview or not but I didn’t get in.

Fast forwarding, when I did get into high school, there were so many things that were left in the dark. I didn’t know I needed 60 hours of community service to graduate until it was toward the end of junior year when I rushed to find a summer placement. I also didn’t know there were senior dues. Neither did I know that the CUNY application was free for low-income students, so I just paid. I remember being in my advisor’s office and him telling me that I didn’t need to pay and just leaving so dumbfounded afterward.

My school did have an SAT program at a discounted price. It was $100 for three months of after-school Wednesday classes and to be honest, it was great. However, the thing was this financial barrier. Though my mom could afford it, I don’t know if everyone could do the same. What I saw was one small classroom of students when we had a whole grade of juniors.

For the college admissions processes, I had to defer to South Asian Youth Action (SAYA), an after-school program. My mom didn’t know how to guide me because she immigrated here at 18 and didn’t know the process. SAYA were the ones who showed me how to apply for TAP and FAFSA. They brought me on field trips to colleges in Boston and Washington D.C. for the price of, nothing. I also received extra SAT tutoring on Saturdays.

Luckily, they supplemented what I didn’t have access to in high school. I needed someone to guide me specifically to make better-informed decisions I would have liked to have had this help earlier and to implement services like the ones of my after-school program in high schools so it wouldn’t have to be outsourced. After all, I didn’t know what I didn’t know.

Melody is a 20-year-old junior at Hunter College, CUNY, majoring in Political Science. Despite being old enough to vote, Melody did not vote in 2020. Recently, however, they sought to be more active in their community, whether that meant text banking for Get Out The Vote, packing bags for migrants, or being a virtual tutor. As a shy kid who was bullied, they knew the results of complacency and not speaking up. Being a nonbinary, Colombian-Filipino American, Melody is interested in the nuances of things and the ways that things can’t be boxed in. They enjoy being a New York Civil Liberties (NYCLU) Campus Organizer and a teacher’s assistant for Columbia University’s pre-college program on Saturdays, while also tackling what it means to work for a private university and a nonprofit organization. They want to take what they have learned and use it for the better. As of now, Melody’s career choice is still undecided. They’re here at Young Invincibles to see what they can do, fight for equity and justice in higher education and health care, and see where it leads to.