GREENVILLE, N.C. (WNCT) — It’s a long time coming for a mother and daughter duo who are graduating just weeks apart – one from high school and the other from college.

“I know some say 17, having a baby is, ‘oh it’s so bad,’ but I really feel like she saved my life,” said Melissa Jones, who his graduating college.

Tashada Joseph feels the same way about her mother.

“She can never be replaced,” said Joseph, who’s graduating high school.  “That is my heart.”

“It’s not nothing we can’t talk about,” said Jones. “Whether she’s good, bad, in wrong, we talk about everything.”

The perfect mother-daughter duo.

“They’ll ask, “Is that your sister?” said Joseph. “Like no, that’s my mama.”

The two of them say they do everything together.

And this year is no different

“We both are graduating,” said Joseph. “I’m graduating from high school, and she’s graduating from college.”

Joseph is set to graduate from North Pitt, and she’ll be the first in her family to attend a four-year university.

After 8 years of back and forth, her mom, Jones, will get an associate’s degree from Wilson Community College.

“It’s not words that can describe how I feel about both of us, graduating weeks apart from each other,” Jones said.

Joseph said it is amazing “to see how far we came from having nothing.”

“Days without lights and stuff like that, we went through the struggle,” said Joseph.

They work together.

“She has helped me tremendously with my homework,” said Jones.

And now they get to celebrate together.

“Ain’t nothing going to be able to top this,” Jones said.

The duo wants their story to inspire others and remind people to never give up.