Home, Not Alone: How the Flores Family Stays Positive Through Home Learning and Houseguests
“I live right next door to Mickey Mouse,” Abigail Flores says of the Florida home she shares with her parents, Gladys and Abdon, and two younger siblings. Abigail is currently in her third-year at Johns Hopkins, majoring in molecular and cellular biology; but prior to attending college, she had never lived outside of Orlando. But from the time she was in the ninth grade, Abigail dreamed of spending her undergraduate years in Baltimore.
“I heard a speech from a high school alum who was attending Hopkins at the time,” Abigail says. “He came back to my high school during my freshman year, and his speech and enthusiasm left me in awe of the university.”
Abigail was initially waitlisted and had begun making plans to attend the University of Florida. She and her family felt some comfort in knowing this would allow her more opportunities to visit home. However, once her acceptance letter from Hopkins came, there was no looking back.
For Gladys, a stay-at-home mother, the difficult prospect of having her firstborn nearly 900 miles away didn’t diminish her excitement at seeing her daughter’s wish fulfilled. “Although I was hesitant to see her leave,” Gladys says, “I felt a joy I cannot describe because it was her dream college. I knew that this was a big opportunity for her to achieve her dreams.”