Dear Future President,

As you already know, a reason that millions across America suffer to this day is the cost of education and healthcare. What happens when we cannot afford them? We are uneducated. We can’t find jobs. We fall sick and can’t pay for treatment. We watch loved ones pass away. Or, we spend the rest of our lives in debt. We can all agree that these services are ridiculously overpriced, and that is why I am asking you to make college and healthcare affordable and an option for everyone.

For the past 14 years, I’ve watched my mom suffer daily due to chronic back pain. She has had to give up many of the things she loves due to her condition. When I was 7 years old, lymph nodes in my neck began to swell up, leaving me in the hospital for over a month and leaving my parents with an alarming medical bill. My parents knew there was no way they could pay for the treatment of both me and my mom, not to mention the impending burden of my college expenses. So my mom, being a mom, gave up all her dreams of living a healthy, fulfilled life so that I could. Now I have to wake up every morning to the reminder that I am the reason for her pain.

When it comes to my education, the words I hear every day consist of “Study hard, and get a scholarship” and “We can’t pay for your entire tuition. Unless you try harder, you will never be able to go to college” Those are the words that get me through the day. The words that drive me to do more and more, until I’m not feeling anymore. I’m just doing. Sit up straighter, get an A, join another club. I do this because the idea that I might never go to college and therefore be unemployed is what scares me the most.

Over the past five years the cost of health insurance has risen 54 percent. Out-of-state tuition and fees at public universities have-risen 226 percent since 1995, but in-state tuition and fees has risen 296 percent, leaving thousands of students to struggle with debt. The costs of these services will only continue to rise if action is not taken.

The point I am trying to make here is that lower or even middle class families shouldn't constantly have to pay the price of being put into a not as fortunate financial situation. A possible solution would be to regulate profitability and advertising of pharmaceutical drugs and increase taxes according to individual incomes so as to provide free healthcare and education. So please, Madame/Mr. President, I am begging you to make a move and in turn enhance the lives of students and families across our country.

Sincerely,

Anita S.