Go Bears!

It's one of those things that you never really think will happen to you.

Your mother was a waitress, then a hostess, then a receptionist, then a hostess again. Your grandmother never really branched out, so she was just a waitress her whole life. Your father has been dead for most of your life, as have your other grandparents. The only other family members that you know well also work in the food service industry in some capacity or another, and the only relative, living or dead, who has ever gone to college that you know of, is your uncle. The one who lives in Florida as a chemist. The one who is your mother's younger brother. The one who told you back in 2005, when you decided to go back to community college and start over, that you would never get into UC Berkeley.

He was the first person my mother called when I told her that I had been accepted.

That was a few months ago. Since then I have moved my nine year old son and myself to Albany, CA. Albany being one square mile near Berkeley, where the university family housing is located just 3 miles from the UC campus.

Today was the start of week two of classes. I was expecting at this point in my journey to say that I was stressed out or scared or overwhelmed, but so far... all I can say is that I'm excited. Nothing has ever felt more "right" in my life. I am going to thrive here and I can't wait to get started on the rest of my life :)