Chicago college student breaks down in tears over alleged $100K in debt, wishes her parents had never left Sicily. Then her reality gets criticized

A woman who lives in Chicago said the worst decision her family ever made was moving from Sicily to settle in the US. The original video was posted on TikTok, where she was in her car complaining about her ballooning student debt, which she claims has grown to $100,000. She says that had she stayed in Italy, her family would have been paid to go to school.

The video has since spread to various social media pages, including X, and backlash to her opinion promptly followed. In the video reposted by the X page @HistoryUSA1, the woman clearly looks frustrated and upset, even holding back tears. She mentions that she failed a paper by one point and now has to pay an extra $4,000 just to resit it.

Getting an undergraduate degree is famously one of the hardest things a human being can achieve in today’s day and age. According to The Daily Illini, only about 6.7% of the world’s total population has managed to earn one or an equivalent college degree. However, once you look exclusively at wealthier, more developed nations, that number jumps to at least 32%, which is around where the US sits. Countries like Canada lead this list, with roughly half their adult population attaining this educational feat.

There was pushback to her complaints

For years, many in the United States have argued that if the country wants to close that gap, its leaders need to make higher education more affordable. The Joe Biden administration took steps to alleviate the debt of adults who pursued higher education by forgiving what some borrowers owed through the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) income-driven repayment plan. However, when the Donald Trump administration came into power, it permanently axed the program.

In the post criticizing the TikTok creator’s video, the page wrote, “Your parents LEFT for a reason. Sicily has high youth unemployment, low wages, brutal taxes, and constant brain drain as young people flee. Your family chose real opportunity.”

It then continued by arguing that everything comes at a cost, writing, “Italy’s ‘free’ unis? Income-based tuition (0-4k euros). Low-income students get grants, housing, and meals via DSU — all funded by punishing taxes (43% top rate).”

The argument the page was making was that the low cost of higher education comes at the expense of lower take-home salaries for the rest of the Italian population. The discussion was happening on X, so there was minimal pushback beyond one account arguing that there shouldn’t be interest on student loans.

Yes, we have to get rid of student debt and they shouldn’t be charging us interest on student loans. Why should you profit off of that?

— T (@thetwit1976) July 21, 2026

It depends on ones political opinion

The post on X criticizing the original video had several major holes that could be poked, but perhaps the most glaring one was pointing to the DSU (Diritto allo Studio Universitario, which translates to “Right to University Education”) as a tax drain. According to The Guardian, the program exists to give students cash stipends and tuition waivers to help them compete and contribute to the economy. The country sees it as safeguarding and investing in its future. Just like the UK with the NHS, Italy takes national pride in the program. But, much like the NHS, it has also struggled in recent years to maintain the same level of reliability because of rising costs.

But as for everything else the post puts forward, that truly depends on one’s political opinion, which can vary as widely as possible — as is everyone’s right in a democracy.