A few days ago, my mom turned 57 years old. I think back to when I was a kid, and she was this strong, imposing, all-knowing adult. My mom is still that all-knowing adult, just a bit more physically fragile with each passing year. Now that I am an adult, and a terrible one at that, I'm trying to implement all of her life lessons -- particularly those that guide women. What shocks me the most about these ideals is just how applicable they are today, as women's rights are under threat both in our government and in our society. Therefore, I ask you to carry these ideals forward, and remember them the next time a President mocks sexual assault, the next time your coworker feels the need to comment on your relationship status, the next time a family member comments on your clothing, until there's no longer a "next time."

1. Don't wait to get married to start your life

My mother was born in the 1960s in India, to a moderately progressive family for the time. When she reached her twenties, my grandparents started to search for suitors in hopes that she would choose someone she liked enough to marry them. However, years passed and she did not find herself ready to marry. I mean, my theory is that she was just too good for all of those suitors, but I digress. After not securing a husband, what was then the equivalent to security, she decided she would take up her company's offer to work in New York, where she had no family and no friends. My mother not only rejected marriage as it was not convenient to her yet, but she also rejected the societal rule that a woman should not travel alone unsupervised. Essentially, she proved that marriage is often a social construct that ties a woman to a man, as well as social demands that hinder her from achieving her personal goals.