As I've grown up from my rebellious teen years, I have come to the realization that I was not a fun teenager to raise. My parents, especially my mom, would get so disappointed in me and give me the worst lectures. These lectures were so terrible that I dreaded them more than my actual punishment of being grounded for two weeks (or whatever other form of torture my parents came up with). During these lengthy lectures, my mom would give me advice about life and about the wrong choices I was making. As a stubborn 15-year-old, I never listened to most of it, but one thing she said to me during one of these lectures really stuck in my head. Every time, she would look at me directly in the eye and say:
"One of these days, after you find out these things for yourself, you'll realize I was right."
Now the drama queen that I was, I blew it off, said what I thought I needed to say to get out of the conversation, and went on with my life, only now with that nagging motherly voice in my head. Still, I never believed her. I didn't believe that the scumbag guy, who was my Prince Charming in my eyes, would ever cheat on me and break my heart. I didn't believe that I needed to first demand respect for myself before others would respect me, and I didn't think that I could ever hit rock bottom by failing at something because I already knew everything. So I went on with my life and lived it the way I wanted to, despite the words of wisdom I was given.
But every time I would get in trouble, my mom would always end with that statement.
As the years passed, sure enough, I had to learn those lessons for myself. That boy that was cheating on me did it again. Those people didn't respect me because I didn't have enough self-respect. I failed one of the biggest classes I needed to succeed in life and hit my rock bottom.
My mom, being the gracious woman that she is, helped me pick up the pieces every single time. I never heard an "I told you so"—she simply held me while I cried, helped me find the respect I needed by helping me change, and told me to pick myself up and keep going. This woman, who had every right to look at me and say, "I told you so," refrained and showed me the compassion and tough love that I needed.
I know now that she was right. And as much as those words burn in my mouth to say, she deserves to hear it. So Mom if you read this, you were right. And I thank God every day for you telling me these things and teaching me how to be my best self that I can be. I love you.
