The Road to Graduation
Years passed. My mother kept working, and I kept studying. Every day, I carried two things in my bag: my books and a photo of her pushing her cart. It reminded me why I couldn’t give up.
I studied harder than anyone else I knew. I woke at 4 a.m. to help her before school and stayed up late memorizing formulas and essays by candlelight.
When I failed a math exam, she hugged me and said,
“You can fail today. Just don’t fail yourself tomorrow.”
When I was accepted into the public university, I almost didn’t go — we couldn’t afford the fees. But my mother sold her cart, her only source of income, to pay for my entrance exam.
“It’s time you stop pushing garbage,” she said. “It’s time you start pushing yourself.”
That day, I promised her I would make it worth it.
