Mom revisits the place that shaped her identity

My mother had what many regard as an over-sized ego. If she had been a success it would have been "a belief in herself" or faith or something else.

She had discovered a love of culture in the midst of her abusive and neglectful childhood without much encouragement. She tells of one apparently kind and cultured man and his wife where she was placed for a short time and where she learned to love Rhachmaninov while hanging around his workspace with him.

As a young adult she had taken a correspondence course on becoming an artist. She bought the study guides available in the art supply store and drew and painted from life before she was accepted to the Art Institute.
Being taught at the school became an enormous mark of approval for her and she tried to use her degree to speak for her worth too often.