Pencils

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Growing up my mother and father would buy my sister and me a lot of pencils for school and our extra-curricular studies (and hobbies). They would buy them in bulk from Wal-Mart, Target, Staples, Dollar Tree, you name it, we probably have a pencil from there. That would happen during the back to school sales and even when they felt like restocking up on supplies in the middle of a school year or semester. Currently, my one dresser drawer is full of pencils some even dating back to my middle school years. (Which was over ten years ago- wow I am getting old). Sure, some people see it as greedy, or selfish, but often times when our friends would come over for study sessions or projects, we would give them some, because it was around that time of the school year pencils and pens would start to go missing. Sometimes I would even bring a spare pencil case full of them and give them out to any classmate that needed a pencil or two. Of course, people would try to give them back but I would tell them to please keep them or pick a pencil they like better in the bag.) But as I am sitting here, trying to figure out where to store my mom's newest batch because I go back to school in a few weeks, I realize I am lucky. I am so lucky that my parents want me to continue with my education, even if they give me too much stuff for it. I am lucky that they support my endeavors and want me to become the best version of myself that I could ever be. And then I remember they didn't have this when they were my age, they do not want me to suffer the hardships they faced. So to pay them back I am striving for all A's. I am striving to get on the Dean's List every semester. I am working hard applying for internships and finding the next school I will be attending. When I am not studying, I help my mother with the cooking or cleaning or even surprise her and my father when they are not home by cleaning the entire house top to bottom, so they can come home and relax. I allow them to look over my work and give me advice and tell them about my studies and what I learned in class. It brings them joy, and that's all I can ask for. So, all because my parents love to buy lots of pencils (and other supplies), I learned the most valuable lesson. More valuable than any book or lecture could teach me. That lesson is, the smallest things in life are the most important. It does not matter that I am not in Yale or Harvard because we couldn't afford it, but rather I am studying hard at my local community college earning as many credits as I can before I transfer. Compared to my friends who did get sent to big schools, they even say I have matured more than they did. My education will take a little bit longer for me due to me switching my major and my mental illnesses and disabilities. But as long as I continue to work hard and learn as much as I can, that's what counts. And I just hope, I make my parents proud. They have given me many tools to do well, so I better do an excellent job. I want to excel.