Being raised by a single mother has taught me a lot. She has taught me many life lessons from my childhood to adulthood. I have learned how to be independent, how to express myself freely, and most importantly I have learned the meaning of unconditional love.

When I was younger I never really understood the sacrifices that my mom made for me and my sister. She supported me through everything that I did. Coming to all my school, sports and club events. I never really knew what she had to go through to attend these events. She stayed up many long nights working from home, spent many long days in the office and made multiple phone calls throughout the day. My mother put in extra time at work, so she could make extra time for me.

It was hard growing up without a father figure in the house. Even being mad at my mom was hard. All I ever wanted to do when I was mad was to cry to someone, but in the end, she was always there when I needed her. Not having another parent figure in the household meant that my mom had to do everything. Most of the time it consisted of picking me up and taking me to wherever I needed to be that day.

She has taught me how to be independent. She has shown me that I do not need anyone else but myself to be happy and successful. I have learned that the true definition of independent means that I do not need to rely on anyone else for my well-being. I have learned how to make something out of myself and strive for greatness. I learned how to create something bigger without anyone's help.

My mother has also taught me how to express myself freely. She opened my eyes to things that I never even imagined were possible. She taught me that I need to always be myself. In the end, there is no one that can be me, better than me. The best advice that my mom ever gave to me was that I needed to believe in myself more than everyone else did.

Most of importantly she taught me how to love unconditionally with all my heart. My mother is my best friend. She listens to me and the things that I have to say. I know that even in the worst situations that she will still stick by my side. Through her, I have learned the meaning of trust, loyatly and honesty. In the end, unconditional love is not ruled bound. It is very challenging every day and you need to work at it. You make not like a person, but unconditional love is always there. If I did not have this figure in my life, I can only imagine I would not be the same person.

I would not have someone to tell me to go change my outfit a million times. Tell me that I need to wear less makeup because I am beautiful either way. I would not have someone to remind me that sometimes it is okay to take the road less traveled by. Whether I like it or not. She looks exactly like me, she acts exactly like me, because she is me.

I grew up with a very diverse family. I am lucky enough to have a good chunk of my family that I get to see every day. I grew up in a time where you learned that it takes a whole village to raise a child. My grandparents are a big part of the picture. When times were tough they assisted us in ways that were beneficial. Both of my uncles I see every day. One of uncles raised a family by my side with my three cousins that I have the blessing of seeing every day. Growing up side by side all these years, they practically feel like brothers to me. My other uncle lived most of his life independently, and he made many great things out of it. Opened his own toy shop and loved every aspect of it. He made sure that education was important to me. He is always noticed as “Mr.Clean” and made sure that my life was always in order. My mother had the best support system that anyone could ever ask for, she had her family.

In the end, as I look back I realize that it does take a whole village to raise a child. It would be different if we did not have multiple people supporting us. But we did. In my own experience, I have seen how times have changed, and people have changed. Due to unconditional love, that is the one constant in my life. That is what has made me the person I am today. People come and go, but it is what remains behind that makes up who I am. I can pass all this advice and stories onto my own children one day. I am thankful for the things that I have been through. I am blessed with a mother, and a family that loves me.