What aspect of Anderson’s life ensured that she would work hard in community college?

In the poem entitled “lazer focused,” (134) Anderson paints a portrait of what her daily life was like during the time she was attending Onondaga Community College. The poem opens by saying that she would wake up at “three thirty a.m” before milking the cows, taking a shower, and driving to school. Anderson outlines the ways in which she was diligent in her academic studies, before pointing to her poverty as being a driving force toward ambition. She states that “When you are shoveling/cow poop to pay your tuition,/you want to get your money’s worth, every dime” (134).