When most of my friends miss their moms, they pull up pictures, listen to old voicemails, give them a call —things you should do when you miss your mom. Me however, I can go on YouTube and pull up several hundred videos of my mom speaking at rallies, talking with government officials and even being interviewed on the news. My friends talk about their moms' amazing home cooking, while I rave about an amazing interview my mom did on NPR. They talk about going dress shopping and buying matching heels with their moms. Meanwhile, my mother and I are either at Ann Taylor buying our next suits for a testimony or some comfy clothes for a rally we're going to. Morning coffee conversations with my mom aren’t just about boys and makeup, they're about what’s going on in the world and how we're going to change it. Having an activist for a mom has certainly shaped my childhood and lifestyle growing up.

My mother gets up everyday at 5:30 a.m. and works out intensely until about 7:00 or so in the morning. She then makes my brother breakfast, takes him to school and is off to whatever mission awaits her that day. Whether she is sitting in her office, answering thousands of emails and phone calls, having teleconferences and meetings, signing important documents, speaking at rallies or working with politicians, she is busting her butt that whole day. Then she gets home, and bam! Her computer is open again and she is chipping away at whatever environmental crisis is on her agenda. The only downtime I ever see my mom have is when she's asleep or driving to and from work, and even then she could be practicing her next big speech. Even if we're on vacation, she's reading some book or big paper on the latest environmental crisis and using that knowledge to her advantage. There is not a moment she isn’t working.

Yet through all of this (her job is literally to protect the planet), she finds time to be the most amazing mother I could ask for. Year after year she sat in cold ice hockey rinks to cheer me on. Many weekend mornings where we sat drinking coffee, we talked about life. Whenever I struggled with self-confidence, my mom was there to hug me and wipe away the tears, making sure that I had a reason to smile every day. My mother has taught me strength and determination. That if you really want something and really want to be someone, you put your heart and soul into it. I truly believe that so much of who I am is from watching my mom do all the amazing things she does.

Everybody in this world has a role model or a hero. Very few people have ever said that they got to meet this person. I am fortunate to say that my role model is a part of my everyday life — I live with my role model. To have an activist as a mother is truly life changing. So much of who I am and what I do, I give credit to her. Because of her, I also hope to dedicate my life to protecting the future of this planet. My life has been and continues to be one amazing adventure. All thanks to my mom, the amazing activist. Not only do I see her changing the world, but I see her changing mine.