Thank you Mom, Dad and Yadira.

Last summer, I graduated at 24 years of age. A little later than most, but that was due to some fooling around in HS that landed me in a community college for two years, instead of a four year college straight out.

Today, seven years later, I walked with graduates from last summer and this year. It was a great experience. One that I was actually going to skip because I felt it didn’t matter. To me, it may not have, but for my parents it did. I should have taken them into account before being selfish and regretting missing this experience.

After years of hard work, I wanted to show them what they’ve created and how I’m so glad I was able to make them proud. It could have gone in another direction, but I was able to stay on track, out of trouble, and get my Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism from Brooklyn College which is a pretty good school if you read here.

I also saved them a bunch of money and have no student loan debt after attending school. A quality education at an affordable price. I’m pretty sure that was icing on the cake for them.

Earlier this week, my mom and dad asked me what I wanted as a gift. I told them nothing. You guys have done enough. Paid for about 20 years of school from Kindergarten to College. Dealt with me being a headache for a time and not focusing on my studies. I can’t ask you for anything. You guys have always stuck by my side and I am forever grateful. Having you two as parents is the gift.

Today, it was funny, because I never really made any friends because it wasn’t a “dorming” school. I recognized some folks from class, but didn’t really greet anyone. Still, I kind of missed school after a year of being away from it. It really made me think about a graduate degree. We’ll see what happens i guess. I just can’t go back to school because I miss it; but for a purpose.

One thing I do know, is that its great to go to all the top notch universities and all, but I went to a regular, affordable city school and feel I’m on par with those who went to top institutions. I had dreams of Columbia and Harvard for Grad school, but can I really justify investing so much money in education in this economic downturn we are going through? I don’t think so.

It’s all about working hard at the end of the day. That Ivy League name helps a lot on a diploma when it comes to employers, but if you work hard, it doesn’t matter where you went to school. And that’s what I plan on continuing to do – work hard…

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