I would not be the woman I am today without the force of this queen guiding me towards the woman I was born to be. The love she has for God, for her family, for others trumps the love she holds for herself-it is so wide and expansive-and I am beyond grateful that she was chosen to bring me into this world. In honor of her, I want to discuss, as briefly as I possibly can, my struggle to love myself and how the part my beautiful mommy continues to play in discovering myself.
For as long as I can remember, my mom would wake up at the crack of dawn to pray, dedicating her waking hours to meditate and honor God. When I was younger, I didn't understand the practice itself, but I know now that the faith my mom has is immaculate and I believe her prayers have saved my life many times. She is constantly striving to grow spiritually, actively welcoming God's presence into her space, which, actually, directly affects everyone who crosses her path.
She taught me that knowledge is power. Not only did she teach me this, she embodied it. Because of her, I know that my mind is my most powerful tool. She would always tell me that knowledge was the one thing I could acquire that no one could ever take away from me. Growing up, she made sure that my learning experiences extended the school curriculum through exposure to things beyond my immediate environment, no matter how much she and my dad had to sacrifice to make it so.
There were many times where I didn't think I was smart enough to do certain things and rather than coaxing my insecurities, she'd say something along the lines of, 'It's only true if you believe it to be.' Although I knew she believed in me, her saying that implied that her belief alone would never be enough to make me achieve the goals I have. It challenged me to be disciplined and to find motivation within myself to write my own success story, not one that was birthed out of obligation.
Contrary to popular parenting, I was given the liberty to think for myself, invariably. Once I reached a certain age, she gave me room to make my own choices, allowing me to find my own path, make mistakes, and if a certain route didn't work, to get back up and try again. Even with all the accolades she has under her belt that I still don't think I could live up to in a lifetime, not once did she make me-or anyone else-feel less than. I am very grateful for that freedom to just be myself, because as many times as I've encountered failure, I've always had the resiliency to bounce back and it taught me how to be independent in a way I would have never know otherwise.
Among a list of other life lessons, the most important thing I could have ever learned from my mom is how to love myself; how to be my own person and how to love who I am at every stage of my life. It's such a blessing to be loved by a woman like my mom. What an amazing woman! I can't imagine life without her (wouldn't dare try), but I'm more than honored that every day is a new opportunity to be her daughter.
Contrary to popular parenting, I was given the liberty to think for myself, invariably. Once I reached a certain age, she gave me room to make my own choices, allowing me to find my own path, make mistakes, and if a certain route didn't work, to get back up and try again. Even with all the accolades she has under her belt that I still don't think I could live up to in a lifetime, not once did she make me-or anyone else-feel less than. I am very grateful for that freedom to just be myself, because as many times as I've encountered failure, I've always had the resiliency to bounce back and it taught me how to be independent in a way I would have never know otherwise.
Among a list of other life lessons, the most important thing I could have ever learned from my mom is how to love myself; how to be my own person and how to love who I am at every stage of my life. It's such a blessing to be loved by a woman like my mom. What an amazing woman! I can't imagine life without her (wouldn't dare try), but I'm more than honored that every day is a new opportunity to be her daughter.
I love you so much, mommy, my queen.
H A P P Y B I R T H D A Y ! ! !
♥ (always) // @ChymereA