What is beautiful

Today at school I met with incoming students one on one to go over their scores from the placement tests and start talking about goals. It was a short consultation with most, but I took a little longer with one woman. I thought we were about done, and asked her if she had any further questions or concerns. She was quiet for a moment, then said, “I’m scared.” I set down my pen, relaxed, and asked her what scared her. She said she was afraid of going back to school again after so many years away. She was afraid that the other students would laugh at her. She was afraid she wouldn’t be able to keep up. She says she wished she had done this before she had her 4 children so that she could have given them a better life. I admired her courage, not only to come back to school, but also to admit her fear, and I told her so. I told her that her children would admire the hard work she is doing, and that she would be an inspiration to them. I told her she was going to do very well, and that I would be there to help her and encourage her whenever she needed. The smile on her face was the most beautiful thing I saw today.