The Lesson of my Greatest Teacher, My Mother by Gricelda

The Lesson of my Greatest Teacher, My Mother by Gricelda - July 2016 Scholarship Essay

The most important lesson that I have learned from a teacher is to be goal driven. Although this person was not an actual teacher I still considered them one because I learned plenty from them and still continue to do so. This teacher is my mother. My mother has by far been my greatest teacher.
Aside from teaching me good etiquette she taught me to believe in myself and always go after my dreams and goals. She taught me to be brave, persistent and goal driven. My mother always instilled in me the passion she had to go after her goals.
Throughout my childhood she always told me the stories of how my grandparents never let her continue school. Unfortunately, she only reached 1st grade and was not permitted to continue by her parents. They believed education was worthless and that she needed to begin working in order to financially help the household.
My mother always wanted to go to school and pursue a career in Nursing or Social Work since she always had the passion to help others in need. She always noticed my passion to help others and always motivated me to do good in school and to continue until I obtain a 4-year degree. Going to college and now graduate school has been due to her motivation and it is her way of achieving her educational goals, through me.
I have battling a pituitary tumor since I was 10 and although it is under control with medication I still have side effects that interfere with my daily activities. During the days I felt so ill that I stayed home instead of going to my lectures my mother would push me to get up and go to school regardless of how I felt. She even volunteered to drive me to school and she would wait the 2 hours of my class in her car parked nearby the structure.
Due to the tumor and side effects I decided to place graduate school on hold. My mother kept telling me that I would never be able to work in the mental health field like I always hoped for with a Bachelor’s degree. She kept asking me every year after I obtained my Bachelor’s “when are you applying for your Master’s?” and she continued asking this month after month.
She became very persistent on her question. I knew that placing my education on hold because of my health would never subside. My health would always be an obstacle but I learned from my mother, my teacher, that I had to push through and overcome this obstacle. And so I did and was accepted into an MSW program in Fall 2015.
I learned that even though life gets hard I should never give up on my goals and I now strive to accomplish all the goals I set myself to realize. In other words, I learned to make lemonade when life gives you lemons. I have been able to maintain a 3.64 GPA during my first year of graduate school.
It has been difficult especially when I feel ill or forget about deadlines because of the tumor but my mother helps me stay on track. She keeps me motivated and constantly asks me when I have assignments due so that I can continue to stay on track.
My mother taught me to be goal driven and told me there was no greater reward than the feeling of accomplishing a goal you longed for. It has been reward to accomplish my goals and continue accomplishing them. My most current goal was to complete the first year of the MSW program with the tumor.
The other goal that I accomplished was being able to maintain good grades regardless of the tumors side effects which consisted of headaches and chronic fatigue. I am now in a National Honor Society as a result of my grades and both my mom and I couldn’t be any prouder of my accomplishments.