One of the sayings my mom often repeated to me when things got tough was, “All’s well that ends well.” Growing up, I always took it as a comforting phrase, but it wasn’t until I went through the hardest experience of my life that I truly understood it’s meaning. Back when I was in the final stretch of earning my teaching credential, the world seemed to collapse. The pandemic hit just as I was in the middle of my student teaching phase, and the school shut down completely. I was devastated–my dream of becoming a teacher suddenly seemed impossible. I remember crying every night, feeling like everything I’ve worked so hard for was slipping away.

When I was 16, I was nervous the entire time I took my behind-the-wheel test. From the moment I sat down in the driver’s seat, doubt started creeping in, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that I wasn’t ready. When I found out I failed, I was absolutely devastated. I remember thinking, Who fails their driver’s test? It felt like such a big deal, and I couldn’t help but feel embarrassed and defeated. I just wanted to forget the whole thing.

One of my mom’s funniest sayings was, “If wishes were fishes, we’d all have gills.” She’d say it every time my sister and I would start with our endless ”I wish I had this” or “I wish we could do that.” At the time, I never thought much of it–it was just something she said when we were dreaming big about things we didn’t have. To us, it was just a funny way to shut down our constant wishful thinking. But I see now it was more than just a punchline–it was her way of giving us a little reality check.