Tricia's family life and community activities across generations

¶ … Life

The person who has made the greatest impact in my life is my best friend Tricia. I owe a great deal to the friendship that we have built between us, and I feel that without having had Tricia in my life, it is not likely that I would be where I am today, going to school, improving my career, and building a prosperous life for my family. I first met Tricia in 2000 when I was working with her husband and he introduced us to each other. At the time our children were the same ages, so we had a lot in common. We quickly became friends, as did our husbands, and we spent a lot of time together doing nearly everything imaginable. Some of my fondest memories of our times spent together included family gatherings, going camping, participating in our children's school programs together, having wonderful birthday parties for our children. What inspires me most about the early years of our friendship is that we were able to find a lot of joy despite the fact that both of our circumstances were rather impoverished at the time. Neither of us had much to our names, we were renting our homes and could not even dream of being home owners. We drove old disheveled cars that likely were not very safe and we struggled to provide the basic necessities for our families. Both of our husbands worked full time, as did we, but we were able to find a good time regardless of what we had. Tricia was an inspiring friend in this way, never letting our financial circumstances stand in between us and a good time.

But Tricia was more than just inspiring when it came to fun, she was also inspiring in much more important ways. While Tricia was working full time she was also going to college. Tricia encouraged me to look into getting my GED in order to be able to find a better job. At first I thought that the task was daunting and insurmountable, but Tricia continued to encourage me and tell me that I was more than capable of accomplishing such a goal. Eventually I decided to give it a shot, and with Tricia's help and encouragement I was successful in getting my GED. While this might seem like a small task to most, something that usually is accomplished in the course of going to school, for me this was a big accomplishment and something that I had long since given up on achieving. Thanks to Tricia though, I was able to meet this goal and improve my opportunities for getting a better job. We continued to enjoy our friendship together. Our improved circumstances allowed us to buy houses, and motor cycles, and we continued to enjoy each other's company, often going for long rides to no where, just enjoying the scenery and camaraderie.

Tricia continued with her college education to the point where she received a masters degree and graduated on the Dean's list. I was so proud of her for working so hard and achieving such a great distinction. Sadly though, Tricia's academic success lead to her being offered a job in the administration of a hospital in Florida, and so her and her family moved away. This has changed the day-to-day nature of our relationship, but our friendship continues to grow from a distance. Inspired by Tricia's accomplishments, I decided to go back to school myself. I am 47 years old and it has been 30 years since I was in any type of formal school setting and the idea of completing a college degree had never before seemed like it was something that was in the cards for me. Yet, by watching Tricia with her devotion to education and her success, I have been inspired to do my best to get a degree as well. Tricia has been so very supportive of this goal. She tells me every day that if she can do it, so can I, and encourages me through every step I take.