I AM INTELLIGENT!

Since the new year is almost here, I'm going to tell you a motivational story about Gerson.

He once told it to me, and now I love to share it with others.

My mother-in-law has told me plenty of times that Gerson would always say he wanted to become a doctor. Adults would ask him "What do you want to be when you grow up" and Gerson's reply was always "Un doctor!"

When Gerson graduated highschool in Colombia, he had to serve the military for one year. It's mandatory. After he finished his year, he went to the public medical school of Bogota to apply and take an exam that was required to pass to be accepted. There are some private medical schools, but he knew he couldn't afford any of them. So he went to take this exam and to his dismay, he failed. He wasn't even close.

He recalls wondering what he was going to do. All his life all he ever wanted to do was practice medicine and be Dr.Pineda. His dreams were basically shattered. Can you imagine how that must feel??

Thankfully, that same year, his whole family was given the news that they would most likely be moving to the country of abundance, the United States of America.

A year later, the Pinedas arrive to Texas, as residents of the U.S.. They had been given a religious visa through his father who was a pastor for many years.

Gerson enrolled himself to a college to learn English. After a year, he decided to go to seminary school and studied two years at Christ for the Nations. Through out these years, Gerson told me that he felt as if God was giving him a second chance to fulfill that dream he so longed for… the dream to become a doctor.

He then graduated from Christ for the Nations, transferred his credits to Dallas Baptist University and became a full-time student majoring in Biology. There was no doubt in his mind that this was God opening a door, giving him an opportunity to try again!

Nevertheless, as he started to take the biology class that every student is required to take, he realized it wasn't as easy as he thought it would be. Actually when Gerson told me this story, he said "I was dumb! A dumb student!" He barely passed his first exam for his biology class with a C. He became very discouraged because if biology 101 was difficult, he thought, how would he ever pass microbiology, organic chemistry, pathology, calculus, etc...

There are many people that would have probably thrown the towel, but Gerson decided to do something he had never done before. He began to declare words over his life and tell himself that he was indeed smart.

He told me that everyday he would wake up and tell himself "I am intelligent! I am smart!" He would write it and remind himself daily that he was smart and that anything was possible with God.

Then he started studying like never before! He read and read and studied and studied until he understood the material completely.

In 2006, Gerson graduated with a B.S. in biology and a minor in chemistry. He graduated with honors and a great gpa. According to his professors, Gerson was one of the best students from the Biology majors w/ excellent grades. He still keeps in touch with them.

The great gpa served him well, when he applied to medical schools in the U.S. He was interviewed and accepted to 4 different schools and decided to attend the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio.

He's now in his 3rd yr of medical school, and God willing in 2012 his dream to be a doctor will become a reality!

This career is not easy, but Gerson believed in two things… First he believed in God. He believed that with God he could do it, and although it wouldn't be easy, he knew God would give him the wisdom and strength he needed. Second, he believed in himself. He not only declared and believed he was intelligent but he worked at it too.

As you can tell, I am a proud wife and admire his determination and dedication. He has been an inspiration to my life. We can do anything we set our minds to!

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