By Maria Ros
Written June 6, 2000
Age 15
My daughter Maria was in high school when she wrote this. I can’t recall why I had handed this assignment to her, but it was probably due to issues she was having in school. I was 37 at the time and I asked her to write an essay on what she had hoped to accomplish by my age. This is what she wrote.
What I hope to achieve at age 37…
By this age I hope to have graduated High School, and have graduated from a 4 year college. I hope that I attend an out of state college. At college I hope I find the occupation that best fits me, and that I’ll enjoy doing for the majority of my life.
Knowing myself, and knowing that I am a pretty indecisive person, I will probably experiment with many different occupations before I find the right one.
Another important thing I would like to achieve is to find my soul mate. I hope that by your age I will find the person that I want to share the rest of my life with. I might even want to have kids, but probably not.
When I am 37 I hope I still keep in touch with my two best friends, Natalie Jones and Daniel Watkins. I also hope that I have a close relationship with you and Carmelina. That is very important to me.
At your age I hope to make enough money to keep me happy. I want to look forward to go to work. My work will be a big part of my life, so I would like it to be something I find extremely enjoyable.
Finally, when I am 37, I want to look back and think to myself…
…“Wow, I have come a long way, I have learned a lot, and I am so happy with the way my life has worked out.”
I have a strong faith that I will go far in life, and be happy.”
ramonapedron 
gonzalo09cubano
August 28, 2013 at 4:48 pm
When I was 37 I was in Cuba, afraid of staying there forever. Two years later, a friend of ours called me from Peru and told he had the money to send me a loan for our trip to Madrid, wife, son, twin daughters and myself.
My wife and I had accounting degrees from Havana University; both found jobs in Madrid, and we started a new life.
Maria ros
August 29, 2013 at 6:23 pm
So crazy reading this!! I’m so glad you kept this. Thirteen years later, I am happy to say that I have fulfilled what I wanted well before 37! It’s amazing how much I have changed and stayed the same at the same time. It makes me happy that even though this writing was part of my punishment, as kooky as I was back then, I always knew that I wanted to be stable and happy and I am. Thanks for posting 🙂