Memoir Monday: One of the best days of my life

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All images are from my personal gallery

One of the best days of my life

I must admit that it was difficult to choose the best day of my life because I have had many, thank God. But in order to choose it, I weighed that not only would it have been the best day for me, but that many people told me that it had been one of the best days for them.

In order to understand this day and its importance for me and my family, I must go back to two fundamental moments that made this day, which I am going to tell you about, unforgettable and decisive in our lives.

The first of these events is that when I was in high school, my grandmother, the person who had taken care of us while my parents worked, died. This was my first experience with death and I did not know how to channel my feelings and sadness. Anger, helplessness, pain and loneliness caused my school performance to drop and I did not want to attend high school. So my father decided to please me and take me out of the educational system. Thank God my mother, who knew that I was rebellious (I was 16 years old), objected and told me, I still remember her words: "Show everyone that you can do it. Cry all you want, but when you finish, keep on studying, as always". And I continued studying.

And the second factor we should know is that my mom and dad come from very poor indigenous families, who lived in villages far from the big city. My parents only went to school and then had to work to be able to help their families. When they managed to move to the city and create a family, the first thing they decided, as a couple, was to give their children everything they had not been able to have. Among those things was education. We grew up hearing that education was the only inheritance they could leave us. For my parents, it was synonymous with pride that their children were good students. That alone made them happy.

Knowing these two stages, I can tell you that the most important and great moment of my life was when I graduated with my Bachelor's Degree in Education. Not even when I got my Master's degree, years later, did I feel as happy and fulfilled as when I got my degree at the most important university in my city.

I am the second of five siblings and we all went to college. But my older sister got married and dropped out of school to devote herself to her family. So, like a runner, I received "the baton" and knew I had to make it to the finish line. That is why I dedicated myself to study without stopping, with discipline and especially with the hope of doing an excellent paper.

And so I did. The day I told my parents that I had finished all my subjects and that I was only waiting for the graduation ceremony, my parents began to cry like children. Their crying infected me so much that I hugged them crying and thanked them because they were the best parents in the world. Without stinginess and a lot of selflessness, my parents worked like workers, they stopped buying shoes for them, clothes, to buy us notebooks, books. All the effort they were making was beginning to pay off.

After that moment everything was preparation to attend the ceremony and have the party at home. Clothes, mariachis, minitecas, food, drinks, everything to celebrate that I was graduating as a graduate of the country. My parents were in charge of inviting all the family members, calling them and letting them know the date of my graduation. My maternal family and patena were happy because I was the first person, among them, to receive a college degree.

Years later my cousins, siblings and even nephews and nieces confessed to me that when they saw me in my cap and gown, they promised themselves that they would also get a university degree as I had done. In other words, I was an inspiration to them....

There is no photo of that day in which I do not appear with a smile, showing my happiness. While it is true that reaching a desired goal is an unparalleled happiness, but making other people happy is an indescribable feeling. To feel that you have not let your family down, that they admire you, that they value what you have done is even better than receiving any university degree. I am happy to say that one of the best days of my life was one of the best days of my family, especially my mom and dad.

All images are free of charge and the text is my own, translated in Deepl

This is my participation this week for our great friend @ericvancewalton's initiative: Memoir monday. If you want to participate, here's the link to the invitation post.

Thank you for reading and commenting. Until a future reading, friends



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(Edited)

You were absolutely glowing in that picture from your graduation day! What a great memory and amazing persistence on your part to see it through to the end! That's the best feeling in the world to work so hard to attain something. I feel bad for those people who never get to experience it. Thank you for your contribution this week Nancy! I hope you're having a good week.

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When you live in a neighborhood, where the percentage of girls who only aspire to get married and have children is very high, and you dare to dream differently: like studying, traveling, getting to know other cultures, the struggle can be strong, but it is more rewarding, because without knowing it, you can be making a path where other people can walk.
As always, I enjoyed doing this post. I hope you have a great week too, my friend. Best regards

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Thank you Nancy! I bet that was tough, having different aspirations from those people around you. Only a small percentage of people have that capability of dreaming beyond their current conditions and making an actionable plan to make it happen.

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