So I've been told many times that my mother never had the chance to go to high school nor college. My grandfather could not afford to send her to school. In order to make ends meet, she and her siblings had to help my grandfather tend the farm. Despite the situation that she had to walk through a very rocky road, it wasn't a very big deal for her. All that she wanted was to pursue on  her dreams. According to my mother, she  had to plead for my grandfather's approval to let her go to the city so she could work and study later. At the age of 13, she worked at a gasoline station in our town, 30 minutes away from the farm.  She had worked as a housekeeper and as a cook as well. To make the story short, she never finished high school or college either. But, because of her determination, she had taken a vocational course in "Tailoring". She was able to get a better job in Manila at a tailoring shop. After meeting my father in the early 70's, they left Manila and opened a shop at our hometown after they got married and before I was born.
My mother always told me that having to graduate elementary was a very big thing for her. The only hindrance that she had encountered was poverty.
Knowing my mother's story makes me believe that education is not about holding a master's degree or college degree. It is about how you make your dreams come regardless of what kind of education you have attained.
Photo #1 - My mom and her cousin - Elementary Graduation
Photo # 2 - Back of Photo #1 - The caption she wrote after she got married to my father.
Photo #3 - Work at the gasoline station
Photo #4 - Our shop "Shanghai Tailoring" in the 90's