Eternally

By Vanessa F

When you look for support, who do you go to? For me, it’s my mom.

My mom has always been one of my biggest supporters from the beginning, through small things like ignoring her fear of heights to go on the Drop Tower with me at Great America, and the bigger things, such as my dad being emotionally absent for most of my life.

As a young kid, and even now, I have always loved to try new things, and my mom aids me however she can. When I mentioned to her that I wanted to try boxing, she was a bit surprised. Going from a sport like volleyball, where you hardly ever get hurt, to boxing, where you can get knocked out, slightly scared her. I remember her voicing her fears to me, but she still allowed me to do it anyway. She bought me gloves, and found a gym for me.

Even though I loved it, I was very anxious and wanted to stop going at one point. I felt like I could never be good at it, and I thought that everyone there hated me. One thing about my mom is that she will not allow you to give up, so she pushed me to keep going. I did, and I still stick with it over two years later.

Despite struggling through the stubbornness of her husband, and having to raise two young children, my mom kept going. She embodied the role of being a parent, taking on both the responsibilities of the mom and dad. She kept me and my brother busy. In spite of her teacher paycheck, we never had a boring day. During hot summer days, we would go on walks, whether it be to 7-Eleven or the park to play on the playground. Once night came, we would go to the park near our house and watch movies under the stars.

Regardless of all of the obstacles in her life that she has had to face, whether it be her own fears, a bad paycheck, or an unsupportive husband, my mom has always done whatever she can for me and my brother, and provides us with whatever we need. I will always be eternally grateful for her and the love that she gives us.

For the Warrior Times, this is Vanessa Fernandez.