My Mother, a woman by many names and of many mindsets.

A woman of joy.

A woman of anguish.

A woman of love.

To teach me to be better than I already am, to teach me to be happy first and foremost.

A woman is many things, but a mother is so many more.

She taught me to be myself, even when myself isn't good enough for the ones I want to please.

She made me believe everything would eventually be alright, even when the world crumbled around me at our feet.

To see her cry is to see that she is human, but it is a harrowing feeling to see the tears of the idol of my life.

She is my everything, even when I cannot possibly be enough to thank her for what she has given me.

She has given me my happiness.

She has given me my love.

She has given me my life.

She is everything to me, and so much more.

She is still living her life happily, yet she makes time for the family she was given.

She has her degree, but did everything to be with her children first.

She is my mentor, because she showed me how to be a lady.

She is my teacher, because she taught me how to be an empathetic human being.

And she is my model, because to reach for what I want like her is to set myself up for greatness.

For my Mother. All of my Love.