Page 42 - Senior Link Magazine Fall 2017 - Online Magazine
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Senior Senior
Dreams to Reality
by Gabriella Fleming
Everybody has Maria and her 83-year-old mother take
dreams, everybody frequent vacations, exploring many
has goals, but not different countries, even different
everybody actually continents. That has inspired me to see
takes action to work myself doing the same thing for my
towards what they mother as soon as I can.
want. Some people
come from nothing, I have always told myself that I'm going to
while others come take my mom around the world. I know
from having for a fact that I can do it if I stay focused
everything. When and follow through with my education. I
I am asked the have seen it accomplished with my own
question "Who inspires you the most?”, eyes by my role model. I would also like
one woman’s name comes to mind. someone to look up to me in the same way
I will always look up to Maria.
Maria Deleon is a 54-year-old woman
living the dream everybody wants to live. She has inspired me to chase after
She started when she was a junior in high my dreams, to never give up on an
school, came from absolutely nothing opportunity for education. It is extremely
and still made sure she would have easy for a person to talk about what
everything. She went through 6 years they want and where they want to see
of college at the University of Texas at themselves in 5 years. However, it's not
Austin. Everything was paid for with over that easy to stay focused and actually go
$100,000 in scholarships and grants, from through with it. There will be obstacles,
books to tuition. and there may be times when giving
up seems like the only option. Only
Maria graduated with her PhD in Human the strong will stick it out through the
Sciences. She had done what she set out to hard times and will not stop fighting
do. By the time she was 30 years old, she until they are living up to their goals. I
had already launched a successful career. can use myself for an example. Having
finished middle school as a straight A
My mother once worked for Ms. DeLeon. Honor Roll student, I was sure I had a
During that time, Maria would frequently bright future ahead of me. However,
tell my mom about scholarships available high school hit me like a ton of bricks. I
to me. She would often talk about how started slacking, stopped doing classwork
that after she graduated, she was able and was inconsistent with homework.
to take her mom to vacation spots she’d I often would get only 2 hours of sleep
always dreamed of visiting. It's amazing just so I could finish an essay at the last
to see someone actually live up to their minute. The numerous projects I had to
dreams and follow through with them. complete, on top of having a job, was
42 Lubbock Senior Link
