In 2012 my mother got laid off from her job of 13 years rather abruptly. She took her life savings, paid our housekeepers 2 years worth of salary, packed her bags & left the country. With the rest, she quite literally spent all on my first semester of college.

I was an irresponsible, spoiled young adult. I Explicitly didn’t take education seriously. She could have easily let me go to a cheaper Haitian University, could have found another job in Haiti, could have decided to stay.

On the plane to the US, it really hit me...here was a person who placed a bet on myself. She placed a bet that I would actually take my education seriously this time, that I would study as I could. Without proof, she decided that I was worth the investment.

A friend wasnt as lucky had taken the SATs, paid for the applications, have gotten accepted. They had money. In her head, she was leaving to study. But when it came down to it her dad decided that he had worked hard enough in life and that he would instead buy himself a $70K car.

Every time a Haitian parent decides to send you to the US, France, Canada for college I want you to understand that they had the CHOICE between using their hard earned money on anything else but that they chose YOU. They placed their bet on YOU.