My mother has taught me many things over the years: how to straighten my hair, pick out clothes, drive, change a diper, cook amazing food and do my makeup, but there are a few things that have stuck out and changed my point of view for the better. These five things are as follows:
- Treat other people the way you want to be treated.
- Never let a bad mood ruin your relationship with someone.
- Know when to hold em’ and when to fold em'.
- Love yourself.
- Love your crooked neighbor with your crooked heart.
My mother has to be the most selfless, kindhearted, and kind spirited person I have ever had the privilege of knowing. I have never seen her talk down to someone and I am not just saying that because she is my mother. You could be yelling in her face saying lies and absurdities and she will not cry or stoop down to your level. She will walk away. She will not yell back, say anything less than sweet or spread lies behind your back. She is better than that. She knows that people are irrational and often do not know how to control themselves or their emotions. She is wise and treats others the way she wishes to be treated. Because of this selfless act, she is often taken advantage of. Most people aren’t as selfless as she. Everyone morning from grade school up to my senior year, she would always tell me, “Lisa, treat people the way you want to be treated”, and by God did that stick by me. If there is one lesson I will remember for the rest of my life, it is that I have to use that golden rule with whatever comes my way.
I am not as level headed as my mother. My anger will get the best of 99% of the time but as I grew up and she noticed this, she taught me when to shut my mouth. She taught me when speaking your mind isn’t worth the pain and suffering because you could lose the ones you love the most. She taught when you have to let people rant and when is the time to stick up for yourself, family, and friends. She is the wisest woman I know.
I also have a knack for holding on to things and people that aren’t good for me. In my early teenage years my mother let me learn this the hard way. She never told me who I could or couldn’t love but she was always there to console and hold me when I was burned. By letting me learn myself, she taught when you need to hold on to a person because they better you or when to let them go because the toxicity will ruin the both of you. My mother taught me that I cannot change anyone or help anyone that doesn't truly want that for themselves. My mother let me grow.
Being a woman in this day and age is hard to begin with, but my mother taught me how to have a brain. She taught me how to love myself enough that I am able to spread love to other people. How caring about myself means to care about other people. She showed me that the opinions of others that are negative mean nothing as long as I am proud to live the life that I am living. She taught how to love my inner beauty as well as my outside. She taught me greatest self-fulfilling lesson of all: self-love.
This last lesson ties in to all of the lessons above. With selflessness, humbleness, self-love, kindness, putting yourself in other peoples’ shoes and taking a step back, she taught me to love my crooked neighbor with my crooked heart. She showed me how each person can be so important to another without realizing it in a moment. She taught me that I am not perfect and neither is anyone else. She taught me that perfection is a word but love isn’t; that love can be spread to anyone at anytime with just the simplest of actions. My mother gave me the richest childhood of all: she taught me how to be a kind person. She taught me how to live a fulfilling life that brightens the lives of others along the way, making me own life even sweeter.
My mother is the wisest and most loving individual I know. She is a beautiful, strong, kind, magnificent, illuminating personality bundled up in a four foot eleven inch frame. She is beauty, light, the sun and stars. I love you, mom. Thank you for showing me the greatness that is still in the world. Thank you for showing me the life I want to lead.
