Family isn’t always the one you’re related to; sometimes it’s the one that you make for yourself. A parent isn’t always the one who makes you. Most people can say they have two parents that control their world, but for me, I have one parent who is my world. The parent I am talking about is my mom. We may not have the best relationship but I know when push comes to shove, she will always be there. She is my world, she’s the person who I want to be when I grow up because she is one of the only people I know who possesses a great amount of internal strength that most people don’t have. Growing up, I saw how strong she was raising both me and, my two other siblings, alone. She had to make big sacrifices that most parents never had to. She is everything I hope to be because she taught me that no matter what comes your way to handle it with grace and dignity because I will make it through. Everything I want to be is because of her. I don’t know if I would’ve made it this far without her. She is always able to handle things I throw at her and is able to see it from a different perspective because of the way she grew up. She is an amazing mom to both of my siblings.
She is also a very nurturing person, she can make someone feel better no matter if they are very sick or sad. But I’m not going to lie, sometimes she does forget to take off her warden hat when she comes home from working in the business world. But when she does switch back to her charismatic personality she is truly the number one person I want to talk to. I still can remember all the late-night talks we’ve had when I would be stressed about school, friends or my future and how she could just take away all that pain and sadness with her words.
My mom is also someone who helps me to never give up easily because her determined behavior has rubbed off on me. She is a very determined person who doesn’t let anything go easily and I have seen her set her mind and keep to it even if it takes years to accomplish. She is also the reason I became a social worker, watching her go through her sadness and having to put on a brave face when she had to go from being just a mother to being both a mother and father. She had to go through the struggle of being a single parent with three kids. I wanted to not only help kids who may be affected by tragedy and a cruel reality but also to be that emotional support to adults who may be going through the same thing and just needs an outlet to vent to. If it wasn’t for social work protocol not to council loved one or friends, I would have been her therapist a long time ago so that she would have someone she can talk to professionally just to vent.
I just hope that one day when I’m older and a working adult in my field she can feel like her sacrifices were worth it. No child ever wants to be or feel like a disappointment to their parents but for me, I don’t want to let down the one person who has been there for me since day one and have contributed to my growth not only academically but also psychologically, emotionally, and financially I can remember her giving me her last five dollars if I wanted to get a snack at school or going in three hours early to work just to help me pay for tutoring when I was younger. She was even the one who used to take off when it was a half-day when I was in elementary school for parent-teacher conferences, she would do it not only to make sure I got home safely but also to show me that she will always have time for me.
She was even supportive when I thought I wanted to be a chef when I was younger and she was even willing to let me go to a culinary high school if it was what I really wanted. But when I told her I wanted to be a social worker all she said was “ok” and to me I felt like it was too easy and that is why one day I asked her why she didn’t say much and she said she knew it was the right fit for me because I’ve always wanted to help people and I would be able to help families like ours who have gone through a great loss.
My mom was also the tough one who would come up to school if I was bullied and she would even confront the bully if she was there. I can still remember her coming with me to the school Halloween dance just to make sure I was okay and to make sure that my bully wouldn’t hurt me or bother me. Also, she is a handywoman who helped me move all my things into my new room, she even helped me lift my BED set ( if you ever saw her you would be in astonishment because she is practically up to my neck).
My mom and I may not have a perfect relationship and we may fight sometimes but it’s working progress, it keeps us together, and it’s unique, to say the least.