“My dreams for the future are pretty typical. I want a good job, and I want my son to be healthy and happy. I want a house big enough for me and whoever my family may consist of at the time, and I really just want to be as healthy and happy as possible. I want to have enough money to live day to day without stress, but I don’t need the most luxurious life. I really just hope to live a fulfilled life, and I want my son to have the same thing, there’s not much more I could ask for.”
These are the words of Madison.
Like all Family Scholar House participants Madison has a story to tell. She has known difficult days, including broken relationships, abuse and housing insecurity. From the moment she knew Liam was on the way, she knew she wanted more for him, and she set about making that happen.
Today, Madison is an organizational communication major at Indiana University Southeast, and she and her son Liam, now almost two, live at Riverport Scholar House. They are fully engaged in life at Riverport, and Madison is learning all sorts of life skills as she creates new friendships and builds a more secure future for herself and for Liam. She credits the amazing opportunity and community at FSH with having gotten this far, but the credit is due to her as well–Madison is strong. Smart. Ready to be the best mother she can be to her son and committed to earning her degree and launching a successful career.
And when Madison was asked, what’s the most important thing she wants Liam to know, this was her answer:
“The most important thing I want for my son…is for him to know that education and a career are very important; but the most important thing in this life is to be kind. The most important thing is to care about other people, and be the best person you can be. Money and power get you nowhere, but love and selflessness will get you anywhere you want to be. As corny as this all sounds, I really think being kind is the most important thing you can be. It doesn’t matter what job you have, or where you go to school, the clothes you wear, or the nice things you own if you’re a terrible person. I just hope he learns to love himself, and to love the people around him.”
And so, reader…. What’s your most important thing? And how do you stay focused, like Madison does, on that thing as you live your life and build your future?
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