Monroe Dispatch - No Struggle, No Progress

Many parts of my life are ironically similar to my mother's. It is easy to highlight the negatives, but those experiences are not the ones that have made the most significant impact on my adult life. For example, I have received many compliments for taking on the challenge of homeschooling my son during the COVID-19 pandemic. His academic achievements and young entrepreneurial spirit have been applauded by many who know how hard I work with him while balancing my career. However, I must admit that the concept of homeschooling did not begin with me. It began with my mother, who homeschooled me when I was four years old. After attending my first year of school at the local head start, they told my mother I could not proceed to kindergarten because the state had changed the age requirements, and I was too young. When my mother asked what she was supposed to do, she was told I had to go home for a year. Not wanting me to lose the knowledge I had gained, my mother decided to teach me from home. She found workbooks at local stores and ordered one of the coolest teaching gadgets: a green pickle bus loaded with teaching cards. She dug for resources and found the materials she found workbooks at local stores and ordered one of the coolest teaching gadgets: a green pickle bus loaded with teaching cards. She dug for resources and found the materials she thought would be best, and this was before any famous websites and without teacher guidance. My mother, a former special education student, homeschooled me for a year. I mastered my ABC's, basic math, and started reading at age five. I credit my mother's belief in education and involvement in my schooling as the reason I have always enjoyed school and believed in education. My mother's decision to homeschool me would not be her only significant impact on my education and finding my purpose. I've been asked how I discovered my talents and to whom do I credit my gifts. Of course, God was my first influence, and if one has read my blog "God and Poetry Saved Me from Suicide," it is clear that writing and speaking put me on the pathway to redemption and restoration. For a while, I only attributed the credit to that self-saving moment, neglecting the idea that my mother had first exposed me to life as an artist. When I was a little girl, my church produced some of the best Easter and Christmas plays in town. The pews would be packed from the pulpit to the back doors with people from all over town and neighboring communities to see the youth and adults of Starlight Missionary Baptist Church bring stories of the bible to life. My mother was an actress in several of those plays. I remember the year she played Mary, mother of Jesus, in a church play. In one of the scenes, the character Mary became emotional and began to cry. My mother transformed into character so well that I no longer felt the woman in the robe was her. I could feel the emotion of my mother's character, and when "Mary" began to weep dramatically, tears rolled down my face, too. My mother was an extremely gifted actress, and I knew it. So, when she went to McNeese State University to pursue her dream of majoring in the performing arts, I thought this would change our life. She took the admittance exam and was actually called to proceed with the admissions process. I don't know why my mom never went back after the test. Maybe it was not knowing how she could manage school and two children. Maybe it was her finances. Maybe it was fear that her dyslexia might make it hard to finish the degree program. Maybe it was the depression she had not been able to escape since I was born. I am not sure what kept her from returning, but I know that walking on that campus with my mama changed me. I wanted to go back to a college campus and get the degree I felt she had delayed partially because of me. Happy Mother's Day