Technology (which is a great job in Idaho). After six years, I found myself once again thinking, “Is this what I really want to do for the rest of my life? Did I want to be in a ‘bunny suit’ working in the FAB forever? I did not. My next chapter included me going to school to be a cosmetologist and working at Estee Lauder. I was planning to open my own salon. After one and a half years of schooling, I finally graduated. At this time, I just started a new job at TP in Boise, Idaho. My boys were starting junior high school. I never opened my own salon, as I loved every minute of working at TP (18 years later). TP allowed me to grow into a leader and show my chil - dren that I could be successful. I got to watch my boys go through ju- nior high and then into high school. Man, did they ever succeed in high school, even taking all advanced classes? I got to instill in them that if you work hard and stay passionate about what you want to do in life, you can literally be or do anything you want. It’s crazy to think that both of my boys’ first “real” jobs out of high school were working at TP. One became a supervisor, and one was on the com- mitment team. My oldest son soon left TP to attend college full-time. He is now a systems/computer engineer with hospitals around the US. My youngest was able to move on from TP but continued to find his passion in this industry. My boys have made me the proudest mother! I love them with all my heart. I even have three grandbabies now, and I am excited to watch them grow into their own as well. So, back to the original question: As a mother, how are you driving change and inspiring your children’s education and development? Never let your current situation determine your outcome. With everything you do, see, or overcome, take that as a learning experience to apply to your life going forward.
Juan David Palacio Gutierrez TP in Colombia
My mother has been the canvas and the pages of my story, the armor in which I have rested to heal and feel safe, shielded from any danger. In life, we face many fire-breathing dragons capable of reducing us to ashes with the most subtle and unpredictable movement. These dragons can take many shapes and sizes, and sadly, one of them took my father: a dragon called cancer. Since that painful moment, my mother has become the shield of my sto- ry. She has taught me that I carry a tremendous legacy in my heart, a leg- acy from someone who gave everything for me without expecting any- thing in return. That is what parents do: they are among the few people who create a love purer and more valuable than the rarest gem found on this planet, a love known as unconditional love. My mother is and always will be the one who ensures that this knight continues to save princesses, that he ventures into caves in search of treasures and adventures, and that he lives stories worthy of being told to the four winds. That is what my mother means to me: my greatest treasure and greatest strength in this life and a million lives more.
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SOURCE OF INSPIRATION
LETTERS TO MOTHERS
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