When I had a bad day at home, I would have trouble with doing schoolwork or doing well in school.

When I turned 18, I packed my things and left home. I chose homelessness over living in that environment. Struggling to pay for community college, I spent a year living in my car, taking showers in the rec center, and then going to classes.

Seeing what my family went through, I wanted to help other people who were going through that. After a year, I had saved enough money to go to Marshall University and study to be a social worker. Community college was the first step forward that I needed. Before, a happy future was like something I was imagining — not real. I was imagining having a stable life and the money so that I didn’t have to worry about how I was going to pay rent or what bills I was going to pay. That is what I wanted to work for. College showed me that there really is hope for people like me. If you work hard and do the things you have to do, you really can succeed.

Now, I am reading about Congress debating the Build Back Better plan to give everyone two years of free community college. I’ll say that this should have been enacted a long time ago. The number of people who miss out on community college only because of funding is ridiculous. They don’t even get to step through the front door to see what it’s like.

I am very excited that this is happening now. I hope Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., understands that, for people to get out of their situation, they need higher education, whether it is vocational school, community college or university. When you are trapped in something like I was for so long, you need help to take small steps to see the importance of yourself and see your potential.

If young people in places like Logan, Chapmanville and Farmington knew they could go to community college for two years, for free, it would signify that they can make choices about their future.