Pride and Self Worth

I didn’t want my children to use me as an excuse to think it was ok not to get an education. They were 3 and 7 at the time. My children were my inspiration and cheered me on every step of the way. They kept telling me I was the smartest person they knew.

I was born in Australia to Spanish immigrants. When I was 10 and in 6th grade, we moved to Spain. Unfortunately, by not speaking the language fluently, not knowing how to write in Spanish, and lack of classroom space, I was put in 3rd grade. After changing schools every year and a half, I found myself back in the 6th grade at age 13 and in a new school with only 2 months left of the school year. Needless to say I failed. Due to my age they could not keep me there, but due to lack of space they could not promote me to the next grade. That was the end of my schooling. At age 20 I moved to the states with my husband. My English was at the level of a 10-year-old who hadn’t spoken English in 4 years.

At age 27 and 2 children later, I decided to go for my GED. I took night GED classes for 3 months and took the whole test in a 5 hour period. I passed the GED test! The simple fact that I did it fills me with pride and self worth.