I must admit that it has been a good minute since anyone heard from me via Word Press or any blog site. Yet today I come out of hiatus to write about one of the most amazing persons I know.
Without a doubt the most influential human being in my life is my mother. I didn’t grow up admiring Superman, Batman or any super hero. Since I was a kid I knew who my hero was, my mother. To tell you this story correctly, I have to travel back in time and tell you about her and the things her eyes have seen. She was around ten when her life changed drastically.
She was a child working in a mill on the wrong day at the wrong time. That day she lost three fingers in her right hand, an accident that changed her life forever. To that, add living through a Civil War as a teenager. It was a war that forced most of my mother’s family to migrate to the United States. The same ways millions of others have traveled to the “The land of hopes an opportunity.” My mother always said she wanted to give her future children the best opportunity at life they could possibly have.
I can say that’s exactly what a lot of us have had. I call my mother’s generation “THE SACRIFICE GENERATION” because most of the people who migrated to the US during the 80’s in their late teens and early twenties, have worked hard. They’ve worked to give their immediate families better opportunities than the one’s they had. In a way they live vicariously through our accomplishments. I speak for all of those who share a similar experience to mine.
Like any person, I have my moments of weakness, where I feel the world is coming down on me. It’s in those precise moments where I stop and replay my mothers words, “anything is possible.” That’s the way I was raised, the way my mother has taught me to see this world. To love others even when they don’t deserve your love. I see the best in people through their flaws because I’m not perfect myself. My family says it’s one of the bonds my mother and I share.
That sweet side that exists inside of me, that person that loves music and is detailed to lyrics comes from her. That nostalgic side very few women get to see is a reflection of my mother. To love unconditionally when you love and to go above and beyond to show you care, is a characteristic she passed on to me.
All my accomplishments have been dedicated to her, the woman who’s stood by my side since I was born. But our bond goes beyond that, I’ve seen her heart and our hearts have been in sync since she carried me in her womb.
“You can have a million fathers but you’ll only have one mother,” she would tell me all the time. She’s less that four feet tall but her heart and love reaches infinity. I’ve lived my life knowing that I represent more than my brain can picture. I’ve become the trailblazer in my family; I’m blazing my own path because it’s the only way to move forward. I’m finishing what my mother started. I could’ve been a gang member or a criminal but I chose to be the person that picked up the flag and ran with it during war. I’m a leader that won’t quit. I learn from my mistakes everyday and when I fall, I pick myself back up.
It’s an honor to represent my family and my roots wherever I go. Although I don’t do it for public recognition, I do it in order for people to see that we can do anything in this life, why? Because the journey never ends, we keep learning and setting the bar higher. I’m 3000 miles away from home today. When I get lonely, I pause for a second and try to feel what my mother felt when she left her country to give me this shot. For me to live this exact moment that I’m living right now. All of that sacrifice was for me to grab the bull by the horns today. My appetite for success is fueled by a quest that began almost 30 years ago.
If you’ve read this far, now you can start understanding where my drive comes from. I won’t drop the flag, I’ll see through this war and on the way I will help as many as I can. I know that some of my friends didn’t have the fortune of growing up with a mother; to them I say, “You’re brave, you’re courageous and your determination to overcome is not unnoticed.” Happy birthday mom, I can only strive to be a better son and a better leader when leadership is required. In a way, I also hope that many of you reading this understand the importance of your actions, you my friends, also represent something and someone. Make sure you’re making those sacrifices count.
Thank you for reading and like always, this is Everyday life with Mo, stay tuned.
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