Dear Mom,

I don’t really know where to begin. How do you start a letter thanking the person who has given you everything? There is no possible way I could put into words all that you have given me in my life. You have taught me everything I know about the word. You have taught me to be strong when the world was cruel and have held my hand when it seemed to be crumbling. You have taught me through example that I need to work for what I want in life and to keep working even when the odds aren’t in my favor. But most importantly, you have taught me that if I persevere, I can achieve anything. You have taught me the power of having hope when all seems hopeless.

Of all the middle names you could have picked for me you decided on Hope, “because I was hoping for a girl” you explained. I always secretly laughed at the silliness of the pun whenever I explained to my friends the reason my middle name is “Hope”. I never particularly liked it nor disliked it. It was just a middle name. I never understood the weight of the word till you showed me. I never understood the power and importance of hope before I saw it through you.

You have taught me that to have hope is to look at the world with a positive view. It is to continue to preserve and move forward despite your struggles. It’s to see the good in things.

Through every challenge you have faced in life you have maintained your hope for a better tomorrow. When things get tough you have never rolled over and given up. Instead, you have looked at life and thanked God for your blessings and have had hope that things will get better. You have never let the world get the best of you. Never let the world push you down. You have always managed to rise above.

You have taught me that hope is motivating. It’s the ability to see a better future and the desire to go out and get it. When you have hope it pushes you to try and accomplish what others believe you cannot achieve. By having hope you have accomplished so much in life that others would think impossible. You have overcome obstacles others would think of as insurmountable.

You have taught me that as long as I preserver through my struggles I will overcome them. That when I fail, I must have hope that one day I will succeed. Because if I believe that I can, one day I will.

I have seen that the world is cruel. You have shown me that the world is also beautiful. You have taught me that I must move past my struggles and have hope that all will work out for the best. Because without hope, the hardships of life would be too much to overcome. You have proven to me that when nothing in life is good, hope saves you.

Most importantly you have had hope for me and my life. Whenever I have stumbled you helped me back up and encouraged me to keep going. You have believed in me even when I didn’t believe in myself. You have been my calm in the middle of a storm.

So thank you for showing me the power hope has in life. For teaching me the importance of not letting life’s struggles pull you down. For proving to me that life is never hopeless. For no matter what I can always hope for a better tomorrow.

Thank you, Mom. Because of you, I will always have hope. Just as I will always have hope in you.

One day I hope to become half the women you are.

All my love,

Your Daughter