Her Campus Logo Her Campus Logo
sunset with mom and baby in background
sunset with mom and baby in background
Jude Black
SBU | Life

How My Momma Raised Me

Olivia Francis Student Contributor, St. Bonaventure University
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at SBU chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.

If there is one woman in this world that I believe has been through a lot of hardships but always came back stronger, it’s my mother. Currently, my mother is 46 years old, and in those 46 years, she has been through a lot, yet somehow, after everything she has been through, she always comes back stronger. So, when women talk about how their mothers raised them, it makes me look back on how my momma raised me. As I go through this time of looking back on how she helped me become the woman I am today, I decided to take you on this journey with me. 

  1. There is nothing wrong with divorce. 

Before I came out of the womb, a lot of things happened between my mother and my biological father, which led to him leaving and my mother divorcing him. With this, my mom always told me not to be ashamed of it. However, many people look down on it because if you marry them, you shouldn’t back out of it. However, if you feel that feelings have changed between the two of you, divorce should become a topic of conversation.  

  1. If your partner cheats on you, LEAVE THEM. 

One of the main reasons why my mom left my biological father is that she caught him cheating during their marriage. At this point, not only was she thinking about herself, but she was thinking about her daughter and how staying with him could affect her future. This is how I looked at it when she told me to leave my partner if they cheated on me: If they are not willing to put in the time to have a conversation and talk about seeing other people, then they are not worth my time.  

  1. Always speak up for yourself. 

When I got bullied in school, my mom saw how quiet of a person I was. Then, when it got worse, she told me that I had to do something. I needed to speak up for myself because if I didn’t, the bullies would know that I was an easy target, and that is not what my mom wanted me to be. Instead of being viewed as weak, she wanted me to be seen as independent and strong. Although it took me a while to finally achieve this, I’m glad that I can finally share my truth without feeling remorse.  

  1. Just. Be. YOU! 

As I was going through high school trying to make friends, my mom always told me to just be myself and everything would work out. I realized that the more I showed the world who I was and what I was capable of, I finally learned what it had meant to be free. To be free from the restraints society had on me. To be free from all of the judgment. To be free to just be me.  

Olivia Francis

SBU '27

Olivia Francis is a second-year member of the Her Campus at SBU chapter. She oversees the site’s culture, entertainment, and wellness verticals on the site, including mental health, relationships, TV shows, and movie coverage.

Olivia is currently a second-year student majoring in Communications, Social Justice & Advocacy at St. Bonaventure University. Beyond Her Campus, Olivia has been published in many anthropologies over the years through an organization called Young Writers. She is also one of the leading coordinators for SBU's Break The Bubble.

In her free time, Olivia enjoys writing poetry and short stories, along with taking walks while listening to her favorite music genres on Spotify such as Pop or R&B. One of her goals is to travel the world someday and explore new foods and customs. An interesting fact about Olivia is she is not only the first college gen student but, she is the first female in her family to go for a higher education.