“Brookdale has honestly been an incredible resource in my life,” said Sarah Jones. (Jones is an alias for a Brookdale student who asked to remain anonymous.)
Jones is a diligent student and a Brookdale athlete who excels at her sport. However, her life is not without challenges. Underneath the good grades and the hard work, Sarah and her family live a financial battle every single day where her family of four has just one parental income, and it is disability.
“Brookdale is an outlet where people in my situation or similar don’t have to stress as hard on finances, and they can just learn,” said Jones. She said when high school was ending, she received Division III looks and scholarship offers, but they did not cover room and board, making acceptance impossible.
“We have to make do with what we have, and there isn’t really any time to feel bad for myself,” she said.
“It was really hard to not pursue (her sport) at a higher level, but I am definitely happy I can continue playing here at Brookdale. Sports have always been sort of an escape for me and my situation. (When playing), I’m that girl in my head,” she said with a chuckle.
“My education is so important because I don’t want to see my family in the spot it is in now when I’m a parent.” Jones is currently studying to be a nurse, which comes with many hours of studying. Still, she works 20 hours a week at a local store.
“I feel like at this point I have to keep myself busy or I will go crazy. The more I’m out of the house the better, and I get that here (at Brookdale),” Jones said, noting that the stress of so many commitments can pile up emotionally, especially while witnessing a parent in constant pain. “Sometimes it gets tiring, but I look at being busy as a privilege instead of something to complain about.”
One thing Jones is conscious about is eating. “I know that the majority of what I eat isn’t exactly nutritious or anything like that, so at times, I go long stretches without eating, which directly messes with everything I do.” Studies show that poverty can in fact lead to eating disorders, and Jones said this has been true in her case.
Jones is very determined to work hard in school, at work and at her sport. She doesn’t let her family’s financial and emotional struggles define her but rather uses the weight of stress to motivate her to create a better life.
