My name is Mary “Alice” Balvinas and I am a student at 71 years old! My mother died when I was three and my father didn’t want me. He pushed me here and there. I stayed with relatives until they didn’t want me anymore. I stayed with neighbors, St. Anne’s Guild and other state houses. I was shipped around like a stray cat. My father liked to hit me and treat my horribly. My younger years were hell.

I went to a few different schools, but nobody ever taught my how to read. They just pushed me from one class to another. I was afraid of everybody. They told me I had to leave when I was sixteen. I was too old for the grade.

I worked at many different factory jobs, and I finally left home one day and never went back. I met my future husband at one of the jobs. We got married. I still could not read. My husband died four years ago. It was very difficult for me to manage things, especially when I couldn’t read.

I kept saying, “I wish I could read.” I never could read. Linda, a friend of mine who has helped me so much since my husband’s death, got me into the Worcester Adult Learning Center.

I was afraid at first. I came two times, got lost and went home. Finally, the third time, I asked somebody in a whisper, “I’m trying to find the class where I can learn to read.” They brought me to Kathy McKee’s class. I love being here. I barely miss a day. The teacher and students are very friendly and help me out a lot. Kathy has been teaching me sounds, sight words, and even how to write sentences! It has been difficult, but I’m learning how to read. I can read a lot of words in my book and I can even pick out words in the newspaper and out in the world. I can even go places without asking anybody’s help.

I plan on coming to school until I read as well as I can. The future, with the help of my teacher and others, seems brighter to me.

Mary “Alice” Baliunas has lived in and around Worcester all of her life.  She has two cats, Minook and Tinkerbell, and a dog, Rusty.  She enjoys animals.  She loves to come to school and feels wonderful to be learning to read. She is an ABE student at the Worcester Adult Learning Center.