My baby is going to...

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Stanford! I can't believe it! Well, I can. I knew what she was capable of, even is she wasn't. On Friday, I got the text: Mama, I got into Stanford! And: What if they made a mistake? Well, it was no mistake! My little girl is college bound and she's going to the toughest university in the US to get accepted to. This year, the acceptance rate was 4.3%! This girl has struggled her whole life. We were always dirt poor, and there nights when I know she went to bed hungry, and it broke my heart. She was so determined to be the best, and make it out of poverty and because someone special. I already knew she was someone special. I've known it since the day should talk. I have bragged about her, her entire life! She has always had the lowest self esteem. She didn't think there was anything special about her. She said that anyone could work as hard as she does, and make it. Well, that isn't true, or everyone that worked hard for it would be going to Stanford. In fact, she kept telling me how many of her classmates were better than her, and guess what? They didn't get into Stanford. Not...one...of...them. She is so powerful, driven, brilliant, talented, artistic, and beautiful. She is talented in so many areas, I've lost count. I consider myself a pretty good writer, but she can write, illustrate, paint, sculpt, sing, act, and she kills it in the sciences too! I know that I might only get one kid that goes to Stanford out of six, but that's just fine with me. She's set the bar SO high and I couldn't be prouder of this chick! Here is what her acceptance letter said: Dear Ari, Congratulations! You have been admitted to Stanford's class of 2022! Everyone who reviewed your application was inspired by your passion, determination, accomplishments, and heart. We acknowledge and celebrate all that you have worked for with the good news this letter brings. You are, quite simply, a fantastic match with Stanford. You will bring something original and extraordinary to our campus—a place where you can learn, grow, and thrive. At Stanford you join a diverse, joyful, and welcoming campus community with a shared determination to make our world better. Indeed, Leland and Jane Stanford founded the University "to promote the public welfare by exercising an influence on behalf of humanity and civilization." That influence begins with an academic community committed to mastering the known and developing an intuitive capacity to imagine the unknown. ——— The was the most personal acceptance letter she received. I could tell that multiple people read my baby's application and saw her beautiful heart. One of her essay answers was about how when she held my baby girl (now 18 months) for the first time, she felt love for the first time and promised her that she would take care of her and protect her; that she would never let her struggle in poverty the way she did. It made me so sad. I have always loved my kids and put them first, but I know there were hard times, and horrible things kept happening to us. And now that I'm coming to the end of my life, I see that even when I die, she will take care of here siblings, especially the youngest one. That girl is going to change the world. I wish I could stay around long enough to see it.