Since the day I was born I've been told how much I look like my mother. We have the same face structures, the same smile, the same expressions, everything. It used to drive me insane to hear this because well, of course, I look like her... I have half her genes! But I always swore we were so different through my teenage years. As I have gotten older it just happens more and more often, but my attitude towards those who tell me this has done a 180 degree switch. When people tell me I look like my mother, or that I remind them of my mother when she was my age, I am not only blessed to hear this, but I am honored.
Everything I am I owe to my parents, but my compassion and patience are qualities I have acquired from my mother as I've grown up and these among other things are reasons I will forever be thankful for her. Growing up I was convinced that we were nothing alike, nor would we ever be. I was your stereotypical daddy's girl, so I was positive that I would be like him: firm, strong willed and determined. Now that I am a young adult, I realize that I am a mixture of them both but more and more my mother's qualities are becoming prominent.
My ma is the most beautiful woman I know, both inside and out. She has a heart of gold, which is rare to find in today's world. She is always willing to go the extra mile if it means that someone else will smile as a result. She will always put others before herself and never allow someone to suffer as a cause of her success. Now don't get me wrong, she's strong. She's as strong as steel, but covers it all with sweetness. She's a fighter and will go to the end of the world to fight for the things she believes in. If there is anything I have learned from my ma it is that I am capable of doing anything I set my mind to. There is no barrier too big to break and no person intimidating to overcome.
My ma is a hard worker. She puts everything she has into a task and won't stop until she has completed it to her best ability. She'll do whatever it takes to make sure that our family has everything we need. I can't begin to count the number of hours or amount of money she has spent supporting us in anything we desire. She'll do whatever it takes to make our dreams a reality, even if it means sacrificing for herself.
So when I have all of these people telling me that I remind them of my ma or that I am a spitting image of her, I can't get annoyed. All I am is blessed because I remind people of one of the most influential people in my life. She's all of these things and more and I can only pray to be half the woman she is when I am older.
