LaraFlores
New member
- Joined
- Mar 2, 2026
- Messages
- 15
After my last two posts about my mom and my confidence issues, something shifted. I submitted my essay last week. Got a B+. Not great but not terrible. My professor's feedback said "stronger argument, more confident voice." Progress.
Then my mom called. She asked again if she could read it. She always asks. I always say no. But this time, for some reason, I said yes.
I sent it to her with a knot in my stomach. Imagined her confusion at the academic language. Her boredom with the topic. Her silent realization that her daughter lives in a world she can't access.
She called me back two days later. I braced myself.
"Mija," she said. "I don't understand half the words. I had to Google some of them. But I read every page. I printed it out and showed everyone at work. My daughter wrote this. My daughter is so smart."
She didn't understand the arguments. Didn't follow the thesis. Didn't care about the grade. She just saw my name on a document and felt proud.
I cried. Obviously. Then I realized something.
The confidence I've been searching for, the voice my professor wants me to find, it doesn't have to come from academic approval. It can come from other places. From knowing that my mom, who works double shifts at a factory, printed my essay and showed it to strangers.
She believes I belong. Maybe I should start believing her.
For anyone else struggling with confidence: find your people. The ones who believe in you even when they don't understand what you're doing. Let their belief carry you until you find your own.
Then my mom called. She asked again if she could read it. She always asks. I always say no. But this time, for some reason, I said yes.
I sent it to her with a knot in my stomach. Imagined her confusion at the academic language. Her boredom with the topic. Her silent realization that her daughter lives in a world she can't access.
She called me back two days later. I braced myself.
"Mija," she said. "I don't understand half the words. I had to Google some of them. But I read every page. I printed it out and showed everyone at work. My daughter wrote this. My daughter is so smart."
She didn't understand the arguments. Didn't follow the thesis. Didn't care about the grade. She just saw my name on a document and felt proud.
I cried. Obviously. Then I realized something.
The confidence I've been searching for, the voice my professor wants me to find, it doesn't have to come from academic approval. It can come from other places. From knowing that my mom, who works double shifts at a factory, printed my essay and showed it to strangers.
She believes I belong. Maybe I should start believing her.
For anyone else struggling with confidence: find your people. The ones who believe in you even when they don't understand what you're doing. Let their belief carry you until you find your own.
