GED Stories

Well, I am from another country, and grew up in the middle of nowhere. My parents had 9 children (including me) and we were very, very poor. My Dad was really ill for many years and my oldest brother had to work to support all of us. The hospital was 3 hours away from home, so my mom was gone all the time to be with my dad. None of my brothers and sisters ever finished school. My oldest sister left our country at the age of 18 to come here, to the U.S., so that she could help my parents financially. And so did the rest of us, one by one.

I only finished the 6th grade. My Dad did not want me going to high school because he was scared that somehow I would get corrupt at the high school with all the crazy teenagers, but my Mom tried really hard to send me because she knew how important it was, so she told me I could go but I had to prove a good behavior for at least a year. That next year I went to the 7th grade. I traveled 2 hours a day to get to the school, just to only disappoint my whole family. I failed the 7th grade and my dad did not want me going back because I was only able to get one shot.

Somehow I ended up marrying a lawyer. And here I am, still with my sixth grade diploma. I know he loves me for who I am, but I know that there are other people who get the wrong idea about me, and do not understand how in the world a nanny can be married to a lawyer. I stopped working as a nanny a few months ago, so that I could stay at home and study for my GED, but now I don’t know if I took the right decisions. I feel like this is going to be a very impossible thing to do because I not only have to learn this stuff, but I also have to struggle with my English.

I want to get my GED because I need to become a better educated person. I want to have a better job and feel proud of my self, but I just don’t know how to achieve this goal without giving up. I know that many of you are in the same page as I am, so it makes me feel good knowing that this is not an impossible thing and that it’s never too late to follow our dreams, even if this means to look in our past and confront our biggest fears. Good luck to all of you!

Julia, 24, GA