Looking back, I realize that dropping out of high school during my freshman year was not one of my smartest decisions. My mother did not want me to quit school, and she had good reasons for feeling this way. Having only obtained an eighth grade education for herself (common among low-income women of her generation), she had worked all her life in low-paying or minimum-wage jobs. She died without ever having had health insurance or savings, and she had never owned a car or a home.

However, I decided that high school was keeping me from a job. And I wanted to get married and start my own family. My mother did not make a “big deal” out of this decision, and thought perhaps a “good” husband was my “ticket” to a good life.

Consequently, I left high school, married, and became a mother. I quickly realized that, despite my husband’s good intentions, money was hard to come by, and I would have to work too. I worked mainly in fast-food and retail jobs, and as a housekeeper in a nursing home. This was noble work, but low-paying and without benefits. We “juggled” around work schedules so we could take care of our daughter (my mother had died, and we had no other family for support) and this added even more strain to the financial situation.

I did not have any skills to secure a better-paying job. I knew I did not want to repeat my mother’s cycle of trying to feed and shelter children with very limited resources, but I did not know what steps to take to improve my opportunities. I was just trying to “deal” with daily needs.

By a stroke of luck, my eighth grade English teacher recognized me at the restaurant where I worked my second job, and asked what I had been up to. I told him that I had quit school, gotten married and had a baby. He replied that it was too bad I had dropped out, because I had been a good student and seemed to enjoy being in class. I told him that I did enjoy school but had been “impatient” to have a life of my own, and at the time had not seen any need to complete school.

My teacher then shared information with me that completely changed my life.

(To be continued …)