This One's For You

A personal letter from me to my family. I love you all.










A few years ago, my cousin sent out a letter to several members of my family thanking us for being her "village." The letter came about because of her oldest son's graduation from high school. The letter stuck with me, because I never realized how much time we put into making sure they had everything they needed throughout the years. Family takes care of family, after all. It's just the way it is. But when I was reading the letter I saw how much we influenced the lives of my cousin and her son.

Years later, I still think about the village and its influence. Now that I am graduating from college I think of my own village and the sacrifices they made to help me reach my goal. It would be unfair for me to take all the credit when there is no way in Hades that I could have ever made it to this point in my life without the help of my friends and family.

My mom, who lives over an hour from me, would drive to my house twice a week and watch my kids while my husband and I went to night classes at GGC. My grandmother, who is one of the most amazing women I have ever met, would be the first person to offer to help out with tuition if I was unsure about the cost of a semester. Summers, my kids would go from my sister's house, to my cousin's, to my in-law's. My dad, who always told me I was way too intelligent to settle for the life I had, would buy my school books when I ran out of grant money. He would tell me that the best debt you could ever have was school debt. He would say that it always paid for itself in the long run. My amazing aunt, who decided to go back to college when she was 41!, would answer my millions of questions about my major and what I was doing with my life. My kids would always try to help me with my homework. My amazing boss always reminded me that school is more important than work.

My husband. Man, I don't even know where to start. He is my biggest cheerleader. He constantly reminded me to stop stressing. He would make me cup after cup of coffee during those late nights where assignment after assignment was piling up. If not for him forcing me to stop working and to have a life outside of work and school, I would have had a nervous breakdown, and probably never finished school. He is my rock who always reminds me that I am wonderful.

I have been so lucky to be surrounded by such a great support system. 

So, it's finally happening. I'm graduating in just a few short weeks, and I can't help but think about how I honestly never thought it was going to happen. And how grateful I am to those who helped my dream come true.

Love you all, 

Lis :)