Tiamarie Rangel’s six children are her world.

When she talks about them, each one comes alive:

Her hardworking eldest daughter, who graduated early and bought her own car.

Her son, who will soon finish barbering and enter the workforce.

Her miracle baby who wasn’t supposed to survive but who “has so much light” – even when she’s struggling.

Her “J-Bug,” who’s still not too old for snuggles and cuddles.

Her soccer-playing 8-year-old who makes the A/B Honor Roll.

And her spunky youngest who keeps everyone on their toes – especially her big brother.

But over the past few years, her children have also had a front-row seat to another kind of accomplishment: watching their mother go back to school at Horry-Georgetown Technical College and become someone she wasn’t sure she could be.

In your youth, why did school feel impossible for you?

School was hard for me for a lot of reasons. I was in a car accident when I was 12, and it left a lot of damage to my face. I had to apply a thick ointment to help it heal, but kids were mean.

It didn’t help that I’d always felt like I was dumb, or that I got pregnant at 16. So I had some rough beginning years, and I dropped out.

I went back and got my GED when I was 23 or 24. But if I hadn’t let things affect me like I did – if I had been driven then like I am now – so many more opportunities would have been opened to me.

You earned your GED during a brief period of sobriety – a bright spot in what was still a very hard season. What was happening in your life at that time?

I made some poor choices and entered a bad relationship with one of my children’s fathers. I did meth with him one time, and I was hooked.

Anybody who says that a person wants to be an addict or that they chose that life… trust me, they did not. Nobody wants to be there. Nobody plans to become an addict.

When he got arrested, I should have gone straight home to my mama and gotten help right then. But instead, I went home and found other ways to get high. Drugs weren’t hard to find where we lived – we came from a dead town – so it was an easy path to destruction.

What did that “easy path to destruction” cost you?

A lot of things.

My freedom, for one. I did a six-month stay in jail for DUI.

My time with my children, for another. Fortunately, I didn’t lose them to the system, but my parents took them and moved from Nevada to California.

And at one point, it almost cost me my life. I tried to commit suicide, and my children found me.

After that, I remember getting on the phone with my youngest at the time – she was three – and she said, “Mama, you’re alive.”

That’s what got me sober. As an active addict, I had still been able to see my kids and spend time with them. But the thought of losing them completely was too much for me. I knew then that, no matter how messed up I was, I would never try to take my own life again.

This August will be 11 years of sobriety.

How did you start to rebuild your life?

It started with a move back to South Carolina, which was really good for me. The likelihood of my staying sober in California would have been slim because there are so many triggers there.

My husband and I have worked to give our kids the stability I didn’t have growing up. We make sure the bills are paid, they don’t have to worry about food or safety, they have opportunities to participate in activities, and they know they are loved.

I also wanted to find positive things to fill myself with, and that’s why I turn to God a lot. I know He loves me. I know He holds all the power. And I know that without Him, I cannot be sober.

I have a go-to Christian song – “Goodness of God” by CeCe Winans – that I listen to all the time, especially in tough times. I also started attending a non-denominational church where Bible teaching is at the forefront.

Once I believed that I could be more than what I was, I wanted to do things that would help me grow. I don’t want to be stagnant in life.

Is that what led you to pursue your associate degree at Horry-Georgetown Technical College?

Yes – and here I am, having earned A’s and B’s throughout my entire college journey and been inducted into the honor society. There were so many opportunities I wish I’d seen a little bit sooner, but I’m so grateful for where I am now.

As a General Studies major, your classes haven’t exactly been light work. Macroeconomics, Stellar Astronomy – whew! Were any classes particularly impactful?

Dr. Parada’s Psychology class. We did a lot of reading and studying about how our brain can rewire and adapt, so I took that as an opportunity to work on myself. That class showed me that I can work through things in healthy ways without letting them overtake me mentally or emotionally.

Now that you’ve seen what’s possible for yourself, what do you want for your future?

I want a career. Something I can grow in. Something impactful.

I don’t want to be rich, but I do want to make decent money so I can be self-sufficient and support my family, with a little cushion to survive. I don’t want to have to worry about my mortgage payment or, if the motor blows in my car, whether I have the money to fix it right away.

I also want to find something that will let me be there for my kids – to be present at their graduations, their award ceremonies, their plays – those kinds of things. (I realize I’m probably asking to have my cake and eat it too!)

I’d like to pay off my student loans.

And I want to show my children that anything worth having is going to require some work. That school may be hard, but they can do it. That life is going to knock you down on your butt, but you have to pick yourself up and keep trying. That they can do things they never in a million years thought would be possible.

I know, because I have.