You Refused My Tuition, Now Beg Me to Save Your Life

My mother favored sons over daughters.

When my brother scraped a 60 on a test, she'd reward him with new sneakers.

When I came home with perfect scores, every single time, I couldn't even get a plate of braised pot roast.

The year of the SATs, I scored near-perfect and got into an Ivy League school.

I ran to tell her the good news, thrilled. She just looked at me with disgust and said, "What good is it for a money-drain like you to get into the Ivy League? You'll only end up married off to some other family anyway. If you want to go to school, figure it out yourself.