Feeling like you can’t make it through today? Think again.
An 80-year-old woman, who didn’t learn to read until she was in her 50s, in Panama City, Florida wants to be the first in her family to receive her GED.
Mary Roberts was born in Louisiana in the late 1930s, and wasn’t allowed to go to school as a child due to her race.
“If you were black or white, you could go to school,” Roberts shared with a local Panama news station, News 13. “They didn’t have school for Indians, and I’m an American Indian.”
She was one of 18 children, all unable to go to school. When she was in her 50s, she started going back to school, but had some unexpected health issues that slowed her process. Roberts is a three time cancer survivor and has outlived two of her sons and 15 of her siblings.
“I couldn’t read, I could hardly write my name,” she shared. “At the time, I was a child so it didn’t bother me too much, but as I grew older I realized how much I was missing by not being able to read.”
She is inspiring hundreds by being the oldest in her classes seeking her degree. She says that her faith in Christ is what gives her strength to finish.
“God has really blessed me,” Roberts shared. “I am blessed, like I tell em, I’m too blessed to be stressed.”
She is determined not to let anything get in her way.
“I put my mind to getting a GED, and I’m gonna get it. I made up my mind and that’s just how it is.”
