Mariana Ramirez | Contributing Writer

The value of education was instilled in me from a very young age. To this day, I live by the conviction that education holds the key to empowerment and success. The beautiful, strong woman that I’ve been lucky enough to call my mother is responsible for this.

Aware of the seemingly-endless “doors of opportunity” that the United States would open to me and my younger brother, my mother took a chance and sacrificed the only life she ever knew so that we could have a better future.
I was ten years old at the time, innocent enough not to know the extent of my mother’s sacrifice, but old enough to understand what was expected of me.

Inevitably, school in the United States proved to be one of the biggest challenges for me and my brother. Not knowing English was the biggest hurdle; an obstacle exacerbated by the fact that we were “the new kids” in a strange school, with new teachers, and students who had known each other their entire lives. Needless to say, those first few weeks of school were anything but easy.

And yet, I recall that after my very first day in the 5th grade, amidst the tears of frustration and longing for my beloved Mexico, I made myself a promise. I promised myself that I would endeavor to be the best that I could be in order to make my mother’s sacrifice worth every difficulty we encountered.

I’d like to think that I’ve lived up to my promise so far. After our first year, I had made good progress in English. I was even placed in a higher level class. School became familiar. I loved my teachers. I even made some friends.
Fast forward eight years and you would have found me, a high school senior, valedictorian of her graduating class on the verge of staring a college education at Buena Vista University.

Add four more years and you’ll find me, a senior once again, pursuing my passion for history, and preparing to embark on my next academic journey: graduate school.

Looking back at my time at Buena Vista, I realize that I pushed myself hard. Perhaps a bit too hard—I’ve certainly had to make sacrifices of my own when it came to friendships and romance—but somehow I don’t feel unfulfilled.
Nonetheless, I recognize that it can be hard to stay motivated. Days when you ask yourself why you even bother coming back to endless hours of studying and caffeine-charged all-nighters semester after semester after semester.
I’ll tell you why: Because deep down we all know it’s worth it.

No one said getting a college education was going to be easy. It’s an investment of your time and your money (or your parents’ money).

For me, education is power. Not the take-over-the-world kind, but a kind that has empowered me to reach my fullest potential. It’s been my anchor and guide throughout my journey. It’s given me the tools and the confidence to meet whatever challenges came my way.

Education has helped me fulfill my longest promise: To be the best that I can be.

What has it done for you?