Earning a master's degree is no easy feat. Long papers and hours of studying are par for the course, and for first-gen TikToker Lorena @lowreynah (who is attending California State University Long Beach), her mom is right alongside her in the grind. She posted a sweet video of her mom sitting across from her at the library as she puts in time studying, which has touched a lot of hearts.
"Proud daughter of an immigrant 💚," she captioned the video, sharing in Spanish "orgullosa hija de un immigrante (proud daughter of an immigrant) and adding a Mexican flag emoji as a nod to her parents' home country. She goes on to write, "I'm adding to the 8% of latinas with a masters degree! 👏🏽" In her hashtags, she alluded that she is in school for social work. She added, "So grateful for my support system! 🤍." Lorena ended her caption with an encouraging sentiment to others. "To fellow first-gen students in higher education: si se puede! ❤️", which translates in English to "Yes you can!"
@lowreynah proud daughter of an immigrant 💚 orgullosa hija de un immigrante 🇲🇽 im adding to the 8% of latinas with a masters degree! 👏🏽 so grateful for my support system! 🤍 to fellow first-gen students in higher education: si se puede! ❤️ #fyp #foryoupage #msw #highereducation #socialwork #socialworkersoftiktok #firstgen #csulb #longbeach #mexicana #immigrantparents
Lorena's video shows her mama journaling with headphones in, and she writes a poignant message detailing how her mom is her biggest cheerleader—even as Lorena struggles with her doubts and fears about being a student.
"It's finals week and imposter syndrome is at its high as a first-gen," she writes in the video. "But I look back to this moment: my mother who works tirelessly cleaning houses instead of resting wanted to accompany me at the library. While I studied she wrote in her notebook because she did not want me study alone. This is the type of mother she is. 🤍"
The supportive moment between mom and daughter pulled on many TikTokers hearts. One commented, "That’s an A+ mom 🥹," and another shared, "I’m crying. Appreciate her. Love her. It’s so sweet to see supportive moms. Not everyone gets that luxury 💕." The comment garnered a response from Lorena, who replied, "yes exactly! i don’t go a day without thinking how grateful i am for my parents 💖."
Many fellow first-gen students could also relate to Lorena's message about struggling with imposter syndrome and being the first in their family to continue their education. "I felt this exact same way when I was in college, and still do at my big girl job. Sometimes I feel like I don’t belong. But we DO belong in spaces our parents could only dream of 🫶🏼," one wrote, to which Lorena replied, "we do 💓 proud of you!" And another commented, "My dad when he would drop me at the college campus at 3 in the morning since it was in the way to his job. He would stay until the library would open to make sure I wasn’t outside. 😭." And Lorena responded with, "that’s love 💖🥹."
When another shared, "This made me so happy. I teared up thinking about my own journey as a first-gen who is now a teacher 🥹," Lorena wrote back, "omg 💖 thank you for sharing! thank you for all that you do!"
The resounding takeaway from Lorena's video can be summed up in three words: si se puede!
