There she stands,

With the same smile that make her green eyes glisten.

I know her heart is full when she looks at me,

Because I have achieved everything she dreamt of,

But couldn’t reach.

It wasn’t her fault that any school was 50 miles out on a bus,

that she had to take care of 9 siblings at age 15,  

and that her mom passed- pushing her out of adolescence and into being head of the household.

She knew how to adapt,

Because that was the only way she would pull her family forward.

So here she is,

Standing before me,

Watching me graduate high school with honors,

and thousands in scholarships,

Moving forward to a private university.

She lit my drive to shoot for planets worth of progress.

She inspired me to shatter the glass ceiling that has systematically held my family back for generations.

Everything I stand for is a product of what this resilient woman has taught me.

She is my guardian,

My best friend,  

And the best mother that this universe could have given me.