After the second sip of coffee, Minerva started recalling her first days on this planet. Several images from her childhood passed by, and the deep and painful sorrow that she felt when seeing her mom dealing with multiple sclerosis and having her dad not doing much, made her eyes wet.

Then, Minerva asked herself:

-What do I wish I had known on the day of my graduation?

And she felt like traveling years ago to the exact time when she was in her college studies.

At that time, I was struggling between failing myself and going down into flames in front of my parents’ faces-Minerva thought. 

I have always wanted to become a writer; however, my parents usually highlight the importance of choosing a career that can make you money because writers typically cannot make a living, and they literally could die of hunger-but I do not want that, Minerva said. A degree in business, the law, or politics sounded like great options for mom and dad, but I decided to go on for a French and Classics degree.

Seven years after my graduation, my own fears and my parents’ fears came true. I was lying on the cold floor having in my back an unsuccessful marriage, a little daughter to bring up, no money in my pockets, unemployed, and editors shouting out loud and laughing that I had no talent for writing.

After the third sip of coffee, Minerva felt a lump in her throat and her heart blowing into pieces. She understood that after 7 seven years from her graduation, she had failed enormously. Minerva knew that there was nothing funny behind failure. Those years were probably one of her darkest times, and she did not know how long the tunnel was going to be or if one day she could see the stars shining again.