From the comfort of preparing the school year for her daughters, a Cuban mother in the United States recalled her student days on the island, and in particular, the sacrifices of Cuban mothers every September to face the preparations for the school year.
On TikTok, Yani (@yanimg30) has touched the hearts of many with her latest video where she reflected on the sacrifices and efforts her mother made in Cuba to prepare her for the start of school. While today she easily prints the school schedules for her two daughters, she can't help but recall how, in her childhood, Cuban mothers had to find ways to have everything ready amid a marked scarcity.
"I was reminded of my student days," Yani commented in her video, before recounting how her mother, like many others, used limited resources to prepare school supplies. She fondly described how they made badges with nylon, covered notebooks with pages from magazines, and even asked the baker for flour to use as glue. "Thread and needle to reinforce the Reading and Math books," she reminisced about those days when keeping the books in good condition was a real challenge.
Among the comments on her video, many followers shared their memories from that time: "I told my six-year-old son about the situation when I was studying, and when I looked into his eyes, they were teary, and he just said 'mom, what a sad story'"; "True, I used to cover my books with sheets"; "That book covering was so stressful, and when we got books in good condition, what joy it was"; "I think that was what gave us the strength we have today to move forward and not complain"; "My stickers were cutouts from the yellow pages (the ETECSA book)"; "Thinking that we were born struggling. I always tell my daughters, you have no idea how blessed you are"; "It was just like that, sometimes we even had to cover books with newspapers and sew the books to be able to use them"; "Toothpaste, a mixture of flour, or tobacco glue was my school glue throughout elementary school. In secondary school, I could have my own glue tubes for the first time. I'm 28 years old"; "OMG, don't remind me of that, what a way to struggle. I even collected colored glass pieces for practical work, and those notebook covers when the magazines ran out were terrible"; "It makes me sad to see so many resources here and remember how happy I felt with my little school supplies. Now I study and feel like a child again"; "For a long time, I carried my little books in a nylon bag, my parents couldn't buy me a backpack, but my snacks were guaranteed, it was a tough time"; "What memories it brought me, it's a mix of nostalgia for those moments that will never return, even the smell of notebooks and books came to my mind"; "Gasoline and foam for the glue," some commented.
A few days earlier, she had shared another video enjoying, like the girl she once was, the comforts of her daughters in preparation for school.
"When as a child you didn't have these backpacks and you live the dream of being a mother," she wrote about the scene where she is 'modeling' with two Hello Kitty ones.
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