I did it because I believed in education and because I wanted Ethan to have the best. I wanted him to grow up kind, humble, and smart—not spoiled and cruel.

But as I opened my online banking that night and saw that tuition draft sitting there, ready for next month’s payment, something in me shifted. That money wasn’t helping him. It was feeding their arrogance. I stared at that number for a long while, sipping my cold chamomile tea, thinking about all the nights I’d gone without new clothes or skipped a vacation so I could afford that tuition.