Finales- Liv

I cannot believe how fast this year has flown.  I never thought that I would get to this point alive.  Here I am putting the final touches on my graduate research, completing my final fellowship presentations and posting my last fellowship blog.  As everything is coming to an end, I am happy to reflect on my progress as a teacher, student, mother and advocate.  The last year has brought with it many ups and downs.  Many challenges have been overcome to include the purchasing my first house, kidney stones, my daughter’s head injury, two simultaneous research projects, a week-long trip to New York City, teaching high school and all while being a single mother.  There were tears and smiles along the way… all of which brings me to now. 

I am happy that my daughters got to see me present both of my research papers at the graduate conference at Meredith this week and at the UNA annual meeting last week. 

They see me hunched over my computer every weekend for endless hours and hear me shooing them away so that I can do my work.  My girls have made sacrifices that they may not understand until twenty or thirty years from now.  I am honored that my oldest daughter listened to my presentation on Wednesday night and asked me questions about my work.  I hope that I have set the right example for them on how to be a good student, a good mother and an advocate.  It can be hard to tell a seven year old that we cannot go to the park because I have endless papers to read and write.  Sometimes I don’t even understand why I chose papers over the park.  But as this school year comes to a close I am reminded why my little family and I have sacrificed too much.  We are strong and will overcome any obstacle.  I am setting the best example possible for my daughters that they might someday be like me and truly understand the sacrifice of what getting an education and advocacy are.

Thank you Julianna and Esmeralda for always being my motivation and my driving force.