It was Linda’s lifelong dream to complete her education, but life just kept getting in the way. When she finally did take the chance, she did not expect the challenges that almost pushed her to quit. Will the mocking from her classmates ever stop?
Linda was 64, and she had a dream: she wanted to become a teacher for underprivileged children, just like her mother used to be.
Ever since she was a child, Linda had seen her mother dress up prim and proper to go to school. She had seen the woman teach with enthusiasm, spend sleepless nights correcting tests, reading research, and planning lessons creatively for her students.
“Linda! To be a good teacher, you have to be a good student,” she would tell her daughter.
But shortly after her parents died, Linda’s life was governed by one big change after another. She had to quit her studies to fend for herself.
At first, she thought she would study after getting married to Clark, but then she assured herself she’d return to it after her first child was a bit grown up. But then came another child, and another, and another.
Years flew by, and just when the nest was empty, and Linda could consider going back to college again, her first grandchild was born. And then another, and another…
By the time Linda was 64, widowed, she had helped raise 5 children and 7 grandchildren. She gave it her all, standing by them through thick and thin, and wouldn’t trade a second of those precious years of togetherness for anything.
“We have something in mind, Linda. Please, hear us out!”
But on her 64th birthday, Linda had a profound realization: There was no hurdle in her path anymore.
The kids were all grown up, and even though she often still watched Tina and Johnny, the youngest of her grandchildren, she had more time to spare than she ever did in her life.
That’s when her children gave her a perfectly timed gift.
“You’ve done so much for us, ma! It’s your turn to fulfill your lifelong dream now!” Saying this, Linda’s kids and grandkids handed her the admission letter to a reputed university not far from where she lived.
They had signed her up for a full-time course to finally complete her graduation!
She was as excited as a little child to go to college, carrying a backpack and a lunchbox. She sat upright at the first bench, ready to take in all the knowledge that would come her way.
But her excitement was short-lived as she came face-to-face with her biggest adversary — the computer.
“Oh, what am I going to do with these sausage fingers!” she sighed, struggling to type and use the mouse.
While Linda, the oldest student in the class, was struggling, the younger boys and girls were having the time of their lives laughing at her misery.
“Grandma over here wants to code when she should be baking cookies!” one of the backbenchers chuckled, high-fiving his buddies over the remark.
“She needs a new hobby, y’all! Somebody gift her some yarn and knitting needles. Maybe a cat, too!” Another voice said, and this time, the entire class roared with laughter.
Linda had been putting herself through this mockery for months now. And it was starting to break her spirit.
When she heard some girls in the bathroom referring to her as “Too-Late-Linda!” and talking about how she asked the dumbest questions in class, that was the last straw.
The girls were shocked to hear weeping sounds coming from inside one of the stalls, and they were red with embarrassment when they saw Linda come out.
“I’m trying, kids, I’m really trying…I thought after all these years I could finally…but who am I kidding! I can’t expect to keep up with you youngsters. You’ve got your whole life ahead of you, and I…well, I can just wait it out until it’s time for me to go!”