I was planning to save this post for when my daughter Nicole graduated from college with her Masters in Special Education but I decided it was time to brag a little about my firstborn.

People often think that things come easily for beautiful people. You’ve heard people say that your entire life, “Oh, I bet someone hired her just to watch her come to work every day.” Or “I know how she got her job.” It just seems that things come easily for people who are attractive.

And at times, I’m sure people think that about my daughter. She’s the typical father’s nightmare. Pretty. Thin. Curves in all the right places. (Her college roommate actually gave her the nickname ‘NikkiBoobs.’) You know, the kind of girl that makes you want to go out and buy a shotgun.

But actually, nothing came easily to Nicole. She was an average student who had to work extremely hard to get average grades. She had no idea what she wanted to do after college – so deciding on which college to attend was a struggle. Her grades weren’t that great, her SAT scores were average and her after school activities were limited. But what she had was a winning personality. She had an ‘I can do this’ attitude. She never gave up. She worked hard.

But the path was not easy for her. She did a little acting in college. But she didn’t want to make a career of it. She worked in various restaurants to pay the bills, but knew that was not a long-term option. She was a production assistant on a feature film, had a modeling portfolio shot, works as a receptionist at an agency I work for and basically did anything she could until she could decide her career/life path.

But then she had a thought. She loves working with children. She loves helping people. And since learning was so difficult for her, perhaps she can help other children who needed extra help learning. So Nicole decided on special education.

In May, Nicole will graduate with her Masters in Special Education. She’s working very hard. She’s stressed every day. She’s working with special needs children during the day and taking classes at night. She’s found her calling.

And her professors clearly like the work she’s doing. Her grade point average is a perfect 4.0. That’s right, the ‘average’ student, and the person who always struggled, made the choice to work her butt off to help other students who were struggling. And she’s become a shinning star.

As a parent, I’m as proud as I can possibly be. And yes, I may be bragging. But every once in a while, I think a parent is allowed.

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