Book of D: It's Almost Time: Master's of Education in Clinical Mental Health Counseling

I'm feeling all sorts of emotions: excitement, melancholy, elation, poignant, pride, etcetera. You see, I have been on this journey since 2014. I did not plan to come this far with my travails in higher education. I merely wanted to fulfill a promise to my late Mom before she passed away. Mom always thought I had put my life (and higher education) on hold to help her out, which was not true at all. I wanted to help her out. I wanted to help her buy her dream home. I wanted to help her do many of those things she longed to do; "antes de que la vida se acabe"("before life is over") as she would often say. Everything I ever did for her, she was always right there with me - working hard and making things doable and easier. She taught me how to work hard and achieve success! All those times I was doing things for Mom, I was not being selfless, I was merely paying her back for having always had my back. Regardless of miles of separation, when I married the first time and moved to San Antonio or the many years that my various careers called for me to travel extensively, I always thought about Mom and how much I admired her. I always sought her out when it felt like life kept kicking me down; she didn't feel compelled to tell me what to do, just hearing her voice made things better, somehow. Even when I had others in my life who had become "motherly" figures to me, I never felt comfortable calling them "Mom." That term of endearment had always belonged to Mom and only to Mom - and it always will. Thinking back all those years to when Dad died of lung cancer and my final two years of high school were pretty much shattered, I stand firm that I was able to make it through because of things my Mom, directly or indirectly, taught me.

She told me to be strong, and she walked the walk. She told me to forgive and help others, and she walked the walk. She told me never to take my setbacks and anger out on others, and she definitely walked that walk. I learned to love and take care of others because of Mom. I quit college three times in my life, and I do not regret it one bit. I took a fourth chance to pretty much start all over and finish my college education in 2014, and regardless of why I took that journey and how I arrived at this point, I am here. My emotions are many, but as I bask in the process and ponder in gratitude all the lessons I learned and people who supported me, I know this: 

I have only just begun!!!