3. 3
Introduction
"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.
Today, I want to share a deeply personal journey—a
story
that reminds us of the value of education.
It's a story born from my cousin regrets and the
profound
lessons I learned along the way."
4. 4
Jenny had never received even one “A” in school.
When the 11-year-old girl arrived at Mercy Home, catching up in
class was the furthest thing from her mind. She had long ago lost
hope that she would ever be a good student. And why bother at
this point? She kept getting promoted to the next grade even
though she only received a grade besides “F” in subjects like
physical education and art—and even then she was barely
passing.
Set the scene
5. 5
Her mother had been passed away when she was
only five years old. She had been sent to live with
her aunt, who didn’t want Jenny in the first place.
Her aunt didn’t make much money and didn’t
want to spend what little extra she did have at the
time on Jenny. She wanted to spend it on her own
two children, Jenny’s cousins.
6. And things weren’t any better at
school. Her teachers couldn’t keep
control over their classrooms, and the
same troublemakers learned that they
could disrupt class year after year.
Eventually, Jenny fell in with the
“troublemakers”—and would stay out
with them long into the evening, just
so she wouldn’t have to go home.
7. “Things were so bad at
home that I did anything
to avoid going back
there,” she said. “And I
thought they were my
friends. I thought they
cared about me.”
Jenny lived like this for almost a
decade, never realizing she had
deserved more love than what
her family showed her.
8. But then, for the first time at 13, she
was told she would have to be held
back a grade. She probably would
have dropped out—she had gotten to
where she hardly bothered to go to
school anyway.
9. But the teacher who told Jenny she
would have to repeat seventh grade
said something to her she would never
forget. She told Grace that she noticed
she was actually really good in science.
10. Jenny was amazed—no one had told her she seemed good
at anything in school. The teacher went on to tell her that she
could make up a few detention hours by sorting lab
specimens. Grace realized she enjoyed the work a lot, and
developed a rapport with the teacher—eventually telling her
teacher about her troubles at home.
11. Since coming to Mercy Home, Jenny has finally seen
the importance of education. Now, not only does
she have a safe place to live away from the strife
with her aunt, she is finally bringing home report
cards completely full of passing grades.
And, this semester, she finally brought home her
first A: biology.
“Before Jenny Home, I never thought I would get a C
in school, much less an A,” she said. “I actually feel
like I can succeed now.”
12. The importance of education is evident when it comes to
being self-dependent. If we are we educated, then it’s
something that belongs to us, and only us, allowing us to
rely on no one else other than ourselves. It can allow you
to not only be financially independent, but also to make
your own choices.