Yesterday, around eleven o'clock in the morning, at the San Geronimo University College, I went down in history. Thank God, I obtained my second Master of Arts degree, this time in Theater.
Life is a constant challenge and one of the greatest satisfactions we can have until the last day we close our eyes, is that we overcame ourselves, that we grew more than physically, spiritually, cognitively and professionally. That is the only thing we do not take with us. The rest, as Solomon would say, is "vanity of vanities".
My friends have not stopped to congratulate me in different ways: social platforms or calls. Which gives me a lot of satisfaction.
At this moment, I stop for a few minutes and look back, well back. I remember when I was just a child. In the middle of my elementary school studies, I wanted to write stories, make fables, novels, theater. The vocation was latent.
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Until one day I gave my fourth grade teacher a story I had written. She read it and, logically, she pointed it out to me, and soon, thanks to a theater teacher in the town where I lived, Herradura, it was on stage.
Early on, at the age of eight, I became a published author. Later this same teacher, Antonio Robaina, would create a small theater group with my classmates and we would present versions of plays by other authors. I still remember some passages from them!
Thus a vocation was formed and a dream took shape. I never stopped, I fought hard, with all my will to become an artist.
There were many obstacles along the way. But I always had my mother's hand to help me. With just a few pesos she helped me. I did what I could and I thanked her with all my heart.
With the meager budget I would go to the theaters, fortunately not very expensive, and I would get something to eat to support my studies. Those were hard times, but my strength and courage never ceased.
Then came the Master's Degrees that I did at the same time, the Master's Degree in Theoretical Studies of Dance and the Master's Degree in Formative Processes in Arts Education. The trips to Havana, from Pinar del Rio where I live, would be twice as expensive. But I had to keep improving myself.
No less effort and study was involved in the process of doing the master's degrees. I could hardly go home. But I could also barely afford to satisfy my most basic needs. And time went on and on.
My grades were excellent. Soon I was recognized as one of the best students within the two Masters. Of course, it gave me a lot of pain to see many of my classmates leave, not being able to finish their projects.
Almost a year and a half of COVID-19 would come, and my plans and projects would come to a halt. My thesis projects varied constantly. One topic and another would come up as circumstances required me to stick to a topic that I could develop properly.
As God would have it, I survived the Pandemic. And today, almost five years after I began my studies, I can once again thank God that I obtained my second master's degree. That is the greatest source of satisfaction that has come to me this year.
*The photos are taken from the gallery