Stories Never Told - "The Graduation"

Source

In life we will come across situations that will undoubtedly change our plans and our lives, we will always come across people who will be an obstacle, but also others who will become our motivation. There are stories that deserve to be told and heard, that is why in Virtual Variety we become the voice of those that deserve to be narrated.

Arelis Fernandez, is a 40 year old woman, one day she woke up with a restlessness, she questioned herself about what she had done with her life, she had a good job, her older children were professionals, only her youngest son Pablo was about to start college; however she did not have a university career, she always wanted to be an educator; she agreed with her youngest son; the young man proposed her that they enroll together in the university to take the career of Teachers in the Specialty of History, she felt sorry and her son encouraged her, let's go! My old lady, that's how Pablo affectionately called her. Arelis and Pablo went to the Educational Institution to request the necessary documents to enter the University, once the inscription was formalized, they waited anxiously for the beginning of the academic activities.

The long awaited day arrived; they attended the University, they were given the schedule and the subjects with the names of the teachers assigned to each subject, they exchanged ideas with classmates, some coordinators who welcomed them, however under the curious gaze of some students; they insinuated to Pablo that he was Arelis' partner, even one of them in a mocking tone told him; you like mature women, Pablo annoyed told him hey! Friend a little more respect this lady is my mother; in fact she is an example to follow, today she starts a new stage in her life and what better study partner than her own son; you know something continued Pablo telling the young man; age is just a number, what matters is the attitude with which you live, tell me is there any law that dictates if there is an age for everything. It is true that for some ages there undoubtedly is, but when it comes to the development of ideas, projects and creativity, there are no age limits, only excuses.

Look! she is too old! to go to college are just pretexts behind which people protect themselves not to step forward and contribute to their personal and academic development; and not because she is my mother, she is a very intelligent woman. What! Today she decided to get a career, that doesn't make her any different; moreover, people who have achieved countless successes in life are older people, it's something subjective because for me, being young or old has nothing to do with physical age. The young man extended his hand and said to Pablo, excuse me brother, I didn't mean to offend, I was only joking, my name is Javier, you gave me a great lesson with your words. Pablo told him calmly, we humans tend to make mistakes; however, this profession we have chosen should not leave room for mistakes, because our duty as teachers is to attend to a double facet due to the fact that we are socio-emotional leaders in the classroom, we must keep in mind that an emotionally competent teacher will be able to help develop in his students the necessary competencies to generate an affective work environment and full coexistence.

So we must begin as students and future professionals of Education; to generate from this educational context that climate; without judging those by their age, religion, gender or physical appearance. Do we agree? The young man once again felt very ashamed because he had wrong ideas about people. From that moment on Javier, Pablo and Arelis became good friends and even formed a work team for the activities that took place in the classroom. The semesters passed normally. Pablo, Arelis and Javier became the most outstanding students in their specialty. in each exam, speech or presentation they exceeded the expectations of their tutors. Pablo admired his mother even more, because the energy and projection she gave in each of the subjects was unparalleled; and he thought he could not have had a better university companion.

Only two semesters before finishing the career; Pablo and Arelis began the internship to present the Special Degree Project, which consisted in the design of an educational Multimedia to encourage interest in high school students in the subject of history, in a local high school; this project was a success, even Pablo was offered a job in the Educational Institution. They successfully completed the internship; the only thing left to do is to review the grades and the documents to complete the Academic Act. Arelis could not believe it, she got a career that many reasons, she did not finish in her youth, but there she was with her 46 years, she achieved a university degree and not only that, she graduated with an honorable mention with her son, Summa cum Laude, and the most important thing she thought; was the experience of sharing university studies with her youngest son; the most beautiful experience that a mother can have.

Later, came the most beautiful day for a person like Arelis, the Graduation Ceremony, that despite the criticism and mockery that some made for the decision to continue her studies did not make her hesitate and continued, nothing stopped her and she not only graduated with honors, she was also the graduate selected for her merits to pronounce the words on behalf of the graduates in the Solemn Graduation Ceremony. Her older children, husband, family and friends came to share with Arelis this significant and unforgettable moment in her life.  Visibly moved, Arelis began the speech, prepared by her. To conclude she pronounced the following words: age should not be characterized by the years of life that a person has, because age is just a number, what really matters is the attitude with which one lives.

We have known people who being very young have a negative attitude towards the circumstances that are presented in life; or others who even being older behave like teenagers, it all boils down to the age you feel. To have, the necessary years to express what one thinks, to recognize the errors and to rectify, without fear to the failure or the unknown. Consequently, age should not determine how we live the rest of our lives. In addition, we share the following reflection of Jules Renard, who points out: "Old age begins when one is sure that one has never been young".

Follow us on

• Twitter » @Virtual_Variety

• Telegram » @Virtual_Variety

• Noise » @Virtual_Variety

This text was translated from Spanish to English thanks to the translator Deepl.