A Letter to My Mom

Dear Mama,

In lieu of International Women’s Day I would like to iterate my thoughts towards my mother in a semi coherent way. My mother and I don’t always see eye-to-eye. We have had some tears in our relationship over the course of my teenage years, which from what I understand, is a completely normal turn of events for any parent/guardian and child relationship. We all go through our angsty teen years where the last thing we want is to talk to our mothers. Where slammed doors and ‘I hate you’ replace kind and warm exchanges. However, as I mature and climb the ladder of adulthood I have replaced the version of my mother I built in the head with one who deserves the utmost respect and adornment.

My mother sacrificed many things to raise her children in a society and culture not on par with her own, and for many years I took that lightly and even began to reject her ideals. Though now I realize the weight of everything she has sacrificed, and continues to sacrifice for her children. I have come to understand that a mother is more than just the person that raised you from womb to cradle, she is the person that you can turn to for anything. My mother may not always have the words I need to hear but I would rather sit in silence amidst her embrace than find comfort with another.

My mother is the reason I am both who I am, and where I am, today. She has supported me through every decision and has been by my side through every little bump along my path. I could spend an eternity trying to give back a semblance of what she has given to me and I would still come up short. Now I spend the majority of my days calling, texting and bugging my mom for attention and I can honestly say I regret the years I shunned her, for she is the light of my life and the reason I push forward. I want to make her proud and will cry in sorrow before I bare witness to her frown. Alas, appreciating women is to appreciate your mother for all that she does for her family. And so to my mother – Thank you from now till forever.

• Adulthood
• international womens day
• love
• mother