Dr. Stephany Giraldo

My parents became doctors yesterday. 

“But Steph, I thought your parents only had high school diplomas..“⁣

Well if we’re being technical, my dad doesn’t have a high school diploma. He left school to help his family and had to get the Colombian equivalent of a GRE. What I’m saying is, 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐝𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐲𝐚 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐌𝐚𝐦𝐢 𝐲 𝐏𝐚𝐩𝐢. 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐈 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐃𝐫. 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐩𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐆𝐢𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐝𝐨 𝐄𝐢𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐞 𝐃𝐎, 𝐌𝐏𝐇.⁣

⁣Here’s Why: 

– My parents left Colombia with the sole purpose of giving their children a better life. They almost lost their lives in the process, made it with only the clothes on their backs, but somehow never gave up on that dream.⁣

– When my dad was working three jobs and had to come home to lay on the floor because of his debilitating back pain, he didn’t complain once.⁣

– No matter how bad things were financially, my dad promised that as long as I was going to school I wouldn’t have to worry about a thing. 20 years of schooling and not once did he falter. ⁣

– Even if they didn’t understand exactly what i was going through in the pursuit of our dreams, they gave me unwavering support. I lost count of all the times they dropped everything they were doing just to see me for an hour, bring me food, or comfort me after a bad exam or anxiety attack.⁣

– With every degree I earned, every interview or audition rotation I obtained, my mom couldn’t wait to go back to work and tell them how “amazing her baby” is or post blurry pictures on Facebook so everyone could see.⁣

𝐒𝐨 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐈’𝐯𝐞 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝: 𝐁𝐀, 𝐌𝐏𝐇, 𝐃𝐎…. 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐌.⁣

Even if this wasn’t the graduation we envisioned, it hits differently when you know everything your parents have done to see their dreams come true through you.

I am eternally proud & grateful.

Thank you for teaching me resilience. Thank you for carrying me this far. Mami y papi, esta es para ustedes. Los amo!! You did it.

-𝚈𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚍𝚊𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚒𝚜 𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝟸.𝟾% 𝚘𝚏 𝚍𝚘𝚌𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚕𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚊𝚜 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚄𝚂.

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