Lexi Bohannon
After the most amazing, memorable, and unpredictable six months of dating, my boyfriend, Timothy, told me he had to move back to New York to help his family run their restaurant for the high season. I felt that he had ripped my heart piece by piece, but he had to go. His family needed him, but they also offered me a job if I wanted to join. I had never imagined moving to New York for the summer right before I was supposed to head to college in Colorado. I did need the money, though, and I could not imagine living in that moment without him. At the tender age of 17, I told my family that I was heading to East Hampton, New York with my boyfriend five years my senior. It went over horribly.
My father ripped into me, screamed about how stupid and naïve I was. I was only a kid, he tried to explain, but I was blinded by love and could not see past it. The final terms my father and I left on; if I moved with my boyfriend, I was cut off for the rest of college. I thought this was a bluff, and I left two days later.
I met Timothy at Central Station in New York City. He came with a beautiful Nutella croissant and a Macchiato, and we boarded our train to East Hampton. All that I could see was him, everything else was a blur. The only thing that mattered that day, and for the rest of the summer, was us. These moments were timeless and worry-free, I was entering a fantasy.
We worked hard and played hard; Hamptons style. We ate the best food, hit the best clubs, and tanned our Florida skin every day. Everything was fun and games, but in the back of my mind, there was always a little thought of that fight I had with my father.
He never called, never texted, never reached out. I was out of the house for the first time in my life, and my family could not bother to contact me. In the moment, I was blinded, but as the time to head to college neared, I became increasingly worried. I tried calling once a week, and then once a day until my multiple classes a day were not returned. I had thought that I single-handedly ruined my relationship with my family because I was in love, and sought adventure. In reality, though, my father’s company had tanked. His initial threat of cutting me off from my college tuition was a bluff, but now it was the truth. There were absolutely no funds left in my college savings, in addition to my other eight siblings funds. We were broke, and I was a week from moving to Boulder, Colorado for school.
It was not until I returned from New York, slammed my fists on my parent’s door, and demanded to speak that I found this information out. I was devastated. I was having the time of my life in New York, while my family was in Florida fighting to survive. I managed to save five thousand dollars from my work in New York, but that was nothing compared to the fifty-thousand-dollar price tag at the University of Colorado. I made the decision to withdraw from school and continue to work in South Florida until my family got back on their feet and we could afford college.
After a few months of eighty-hour work weeks, I realized that I was truly on my own for college. There was no recovering for my family with nine children, we were on our own now. Although this was a hard pill to swallow, I am so grateful for what happened to me. I worked harder than I ever thought I could, pushed myself to be the best version of myself, and learned so much about the real world in my almost two gap years. I am happy to now be a student, but the skills that I learned at that time are priceless.
​
​
I am from Houston, Texas, born and raised, and I am the middle child of nine! From ages 26 to 7, my siblings and I touch every age group. We may not mesh together perfectly all the time, but nothing is better than when we all get to be together. With this upbringing, I have learned to love being surrounded by all different types of people and treat everyone like family. It was a fun and adventurous childhood with having such a large family, but it came with a massive price tag. My parents could not afford to send all of us to college, so we have to take our future into our own hands.
During my senior year of high school, my parents changed their custody agreement and I was sent to live in Delray Beach, FL with my father. It was a hell of a year filled with self-discovery as I was taken away from my comfort zone for the first time. After graduating from Boca High in 2015, I took a year and a half off from my studies to work and become fully independent in order to pay for school. I worked in restaurants all over South Florida and then moved to New York City for six months to try something new. I had the time of my life with great friends by my side, but by the end of my run there I knew that it was time to buckle down and go back to school. Florida State was different than any school I had previously considered, but when I visited I thought it was right for me. I enjoyed my time there but constantly felt the financial pressure of not only paying for school, but paying for the college lifestyle, and I was not able to keep up. After my second semester in Tallahassee, I had to return to South Florida with my family to work and take online classes until I am able to financially support myself again.​
In my free time, I am a little bit of a yoga and gym-aholic, and I love all things homeopathic. From brewing kombucha to making my own soap, I have probably done it all!​​
I currently study finance and will soon pursue a double major in marketing. The journey to my major has been difficult, I started off wanting to be an Aerospace Engineer, but Florida State does not offer that degree. I moved to physics but realized that I would be stuck conducting research for the rest of my life. Finally, I realized that my love for math was not a love for research, but a love for the real-life applications that allow for growth and independent success. So with this, I turned to finance! I want to have full control of my life, and never want to feel held back due to money. I want to grow the way that a college kid should, and studying finances will allow me to do this the responsible way.
