Stolen Toilet Paper

Stolen Toilet Paper is an argumentative creative nonfiction piece, that illuminates and illustrates an invisible narrative on this campus: that of being a low-income, first-generation college student. This thesis is composed of three vignettes—The Bridge to Academia, Falling between the Ivy, and Three Naked Mattresses—that articulate struggles that low-income, first-generation undergraduates encounter. The Bridge to Academia, exhibits the literacy needed to successfully navigate the terrain of academia. Falling Between the Ivy, highlights the stress of providing for one’s family, the lack of institutional support and resources for low-income students’ needs, and the impact that class has on academic performance. Three Naked Mattresses, demonstrates the massive guilt of leaving one’s family in order to receive an education, and large sacrifices that low-income students must make to receive a degree