A Mother’s Dream – Charista Blogpost #1

As I was reading through Adrienne Rich’s Of Woman Born: Reflections on Motherhood as Experience and Institution, these lines struck me.  I rearranged the lines so the reader can take pauses after each line and so the words look more alive, almost like they’re floating in the air. It reminded me of my own personal experiences with my mother and how she raised me. I am the eldest of three daughters born to an immigrant mother, who arrived here from the opposite side of the world with my grandparents and her two sisters to seek the American dream.

Working double and triple jobs in menial labor despite college degrees in their native land, my grandparents instilled the virtues of education to their children –all three ultimately earning doctorate degrees, including my mother. The adults in my life inspire me. I model my courage, ambition, and kindness after them. My mother is the bravest, strongest, and most hardworking woman I know. She raised my sisters and I with values that prioritize family and education to ensure our lives would be different than her childhood growing up.

She always puts her children first, even still to this day. My mother constantly tells us to live freely and follow our dreams so we can live the lives we want, the lives she always dreamt we’d have. My mother means everything to me. I’d be lost without her and all of her guidance and love. I often reflect on my life and how grateful I am to have such a strong, independent woman as my mother who inspires me to pursue my passions with the mindset that anything is possible.