In search of self, belonging, and a degree: The lived experience of historically marginalized racial minority college commuter students

Abstract

This study explored the lived experiences of 10 historically marginalized racial minority college commuter students. Data revealed an overarching experience of “in‐betweenness,” consisting of constant transition and yearning for achievement and connections. Major themes include (a) identity negotiations and developmental change, (b) the desire for meaningful work, (c) commuter life as a world of “fear of missing out (FOMO)” and missed connections, (d) adult‐ish: distant familial relationships living under one roof, and (e) desired community resources to facilitate success.

On how Fiction Impacts the Self-Concept: Transformative Reading Experiences and Storyworld Possible Selves

“…For example, Higgins (1987) investigated specific types of possible selves and showed that perceiving a discrepancy between who we are (actual self) and who we would like to be (ideal self) or who we should be (ought self) leads to feelings of sadness and anxiety, respectively; however, when we perceive possible selves as situated in a realistic and tangible future, they can impact us deeply and positively, as they are a source of motivation, functioning as roadmaps to attain future goals or avoid dreaded outcomes (Oyserman et al, 2004). This is the reason why possible selves -as powerful drivers for developmental change and personal transformation -have been applied in experimental and clinical contexts, often in the form of interventions, and across a wide range of target groups, such as clinical populations (Aardema et al, 2018), adolescents (Oyserman & Fryberg, 2006), divorced women (King & Raspin, 2004), elderly adults (Ryff, 1991), young fathers in prison (Meek, 2007), and several marginalized groups (Burke & Park Taylor, 2022;Peterson, 2011).…”