My name is Maribel, I was born in 1973 in Venezuela, Carabobo state, my childhood was full of fun moments between games, studies, I come from a humble family formed by my parents and 6 siblings. My father was a hard working man who dedicated a great part of his life to the construction of houses. My mother, a hardworking woman and seamstress, dedicated many years of work to sewing to help maintain the household. At that time my family was large and had many shortages in food, clothing, studies, and therefore the lack or scarcity of money to meet household expenses, for this reason my older brothers and sisters, not having graduated from elementary school, had to start working at a very young age to help my parents and contribute some money for the household. Once I finished my studies at the age of 16, I started working in different places, doing different jobs, I remember my first job in a pharmacy, where I did maintenance work and organized the medicines on the shelves, then I worked in a factory as a laborer where I worked as a packer of baby diapers, then I worked in a company that assembles household appliances, such as steam irons, fans and others. Another job I did was sewing carpets and car coverings in an automotive center, in that time of work I spent 10 years of my life. One day I made the decision to study a university career at the age of 26, I was single and I knew it was a challenge in my life, I had no economic support, however I stood firm in my decision. I began my studies, with a drawback, the university was two hours away and therefore I had to have the money to pay for daily transportation to attend the university, since the mode of study was face-to-face, you can not imagine everything I had to do to get to the university every day! I got up every day at 4:00 in the morning, took the bus at 5:00am, arrived at the university at 7:00am and left normally at 1:00pm, and returned home at about 3:00pm, then went to work from 4:00pm until 11:00pm at night. Everything was a sacrifice, which in the future was going to generate welfare for me. I had the support of my mother, who spoiled me with her delicious meals, hugs and affection. Today I write with much pain and longing for my beautiful mother, who unfortunately passed away when I was only 4 months away from graduating as a teacher. It was the greatest pain I suffered in my life, many times I moved to the university and my tears of pain and sadness fell, in many places I cried and could not control the crying, I was overcome with sadness, when I arrived home it was empty, the absence of my mother was notorious, I fell into a state of depression for many months. The day of my graduation arrived and my mood was fatal, I attended the event, I took pictures that I never claimed, I was not without my mother, she wanted to see me graduate and she did not succeed. Through therapies and psychological help, I managed to overcome depression, months later I decided to get married, to form a family with my husband, from the marriage union, two children were born, my eldest son Nestor, and my youngest son Neison. I began to practice my profession as a teacher in the Ministry of Education, working in a school for 12 years of continuous service, my job performance allowed me to have economic stability, where I acquire properties such as: house, car, farm, business, everything necessary for the welfare of my family.
Reflection: "No matter your origin, your social status, what really matters are your dreams, your goals, it is never too late to achieve what you propose, Courage, if you can!