"She only went to school to take the tests"

The teachers wanted to put me in 2nd grade rather than 1st because I was pretty far ahead. My parents didn't allow it. I knew by the time I was 10 that I wanted to work with children and I was always teaching little kids. I even gave kids younger than me at Hobart Court, piano lessons.

I begged my parents to let me go to college (when I was 19) but mother said in so many words "over my dead body" I was scared to be alone with my parents when I broke the news about wanting to go to collgee, so my boyfriend was there for moral support and remembers TO THIS DAY what went down ,in great detail. He said I fell into a deep depression because my parents were forcing me to remain in my secretarial job.

But by the time i was 20 I didn't care what they thought, and I enrolled against their will and without their blessing or financial support.

At 23, (they to this day do not know this) I applied for and was awarded a full scholarship to Western MD College via essay writing as well. It was the Krista McCauliffe Scholarship. I never told them that I won it. I ended up declining it because if the stipulations involved. I had to be willing to teach for 5 years in the state of Maryland. Staying in MD (in my mind at least) for 5 years beyond college felt like a prison sentence so I turned it down.

I think Liz got into Harvard on her first essay as well, but in her case she was wise enough to take it! I don't regret not taking the scholarship because had I taken it I might not had met my wonderful ex partner Bill S who I was with for almost 6 years. Absolutely don't regreat having met him for he was the right person for me.

I do not know what Liz ended up getting her degree in. But if you go to you tube there are numerous interviews with her as an adult. I'm going to have to write to her and tell her about our commonality of obstacles in terms of having gone such long periods without being ableto meet our needs such as housing, health care and food.

I just cried and cried through this documentary. I wonder if you'll find it just as poignant. Do we cry because of what it reminds us of in our own lives? Do we cry for them? I guess it's a combination of both!