About Me
To the world I am no one but to my husband and my children, I am the world. I am Mary Ann A. Halvorson. I am a mom of three beautiful children and a loving wife to my husband. Most of my time is devoted to my family and especially to my children. I used to be a single-working-mom back home. Life was not easy back then but I remained strong and resilient for my children. The hardships in life that I encountered did not stop me from dreaming and pursuing my career in education. With my grit and determination, I graduated college as Magna Cumlaude despite being a working-student-single-mom. It is the thing that I am proud of myself for. After I graduated college, I was given the opportunity to teach English to high school students. I had the chance to teach part-time at a College institution. Then, I managed to work in the Department of Education and started to pursue a Masters degree.
A few years later, a door to great opportunity opened up for me and my children which was to come to the United States. That opportunity also means not only to leave my permanent job in DepEd and to be far away from my immediate family but also to abandon my hard-earned house and belongings and to face the unknown. I was facing a crossroad. I did not know what kind of life was awaiting for us but yes I took a strong leap of faith.
Living in the United States was not a bed of roses. My children and I encountered difficulty during the first couple of months by dealing with unfamiliarity of things, separation anxiety, and cultural shock. But the discomfort that we felt did not last for so long. In fact, it taught us to appreciate living in two cultures, to be resilient and to persevere. We endured the pain and we unlearned and relearned things and eventually learned to adapt to the new culture, environment, and new system. Right now, I and my children are enjoying the privilege of being American citizens.
My children are enjoying the lifestyles and the educational system in the US; my first-born daughter is taking up a Nursing program in one of the prominent Universities in the US while working in Stanford Hospital, my second-child is active in sports and a musical enthusiast, and my youngest is enjoying the attention and love from his siblings. My husband and I are actually a fan of Robert Frost's poetry. In fact one day, while I was heavily pregnant, my husband read a poem to me from Frost and it was called “No Gold Can Stay”. We really adored and were inspired by his work that we named our youngest middle name after him. His name is David Frost.
I continue to pursue my masters in the US but I realized education here in the US is more expensive so I decided to stop. My first and second attempts were a failure though I already earned 32 credits. But I believe, setbacks are part of success and here I am trying one more time to finish my degree. I am a strong believer that education is a continuous process and it never ends. So, I am hoping to finish my Masters this time with Western College. I strongly believe that our life on earth is temporary. Whatever hardships we encounter in life may be financial, emotional, physical, or mental, they are not permanent. In Kipling’s ‘If’,he reminds us to treat ‘triumph and disasters’ all the same; they are fleeting just like time. Whatever dispositions in life we have, it is temporary and will not last for a lifetime. So enjoy life while we can.