Social Media Users Encourage 53-Year-Old Mom To Pursue Her PhD, Assure Her That ‘It’s Never Too Late’

53-year-old Trina Dye from Los Angeles is a single mom to three kids.

“She gave up her career as a concert pianist to raise us,” Trina’s 25-year-old daughter, Morgan York, shared.

Morgan, who now lives in New York, is a young adult fantasy writer and was once a child actor. Morgan had roles on Hannah Montana, Cheaper by the Dozen, and The Pacifier.

Morgan credits her mom for all her career endeavors, that none of it would have been possible without her.

Trina currently works at an entertainment law firm. In 2012, she went back to school to finish her master’s degree in piano performance after 23 years. After that, she put her schooling on hold because she was “worried about the time my continued education would take away from my kids.”

In a recent conversation the two had, Trina confessed that she’s nervous to go back to school at her age.

Morgan said she was confiding in her mom and about her fears that she might “never become a published author,” but her mom immediately told her not to doubt herself.

Trina then asked her daughter, “Do you think I’m crazy to be considering a doctorate at my age?”

Morgan assured her mom that a lot of people start new chapters in their lives, well into their 50s, or even later. Her mom, still unsure, responded, “Yeah, but not very many.”

“It didn’t seem fair to me that she’d always supported my goals, as well as the goals of my siblings, but didn’t know how to feel confident about her own,” Morgan said.

“My mom’s tireless encouragement of me pursuing my passions is a big part of the reason I believe my dreams are achievable.”

On Friday, Morgan posted a status on Twitter and asked people to share it if they thought her mom should still consider pursuing a PhD.

She thought maybe a small amount of support in numbers is just the kind of encouragement her mom needed.

Morgan was surprised that it was quickly retweeted over 107,000 times. Strangers even replied, sharing their own experiences and kind words.

https://twitter.com/ruth_schleifer/status/980123733107945472

“It was completely overwhelming and amazing,” Trina said. “I was—and am—astounded by the amount of love and support from people of all ages. It is truly inspiring.”

Trina has since submitted an application to a local graduate school and hopes to earn a PhD in psychology.