A tall silhouette wearing a black robe with an orange and blue hood draped around her neck, strutting across the stage, shaking the hands of beloved mentors, while the cheers of friends and family erupt from the crowd, my mother graciously receives her master’s degree. Even though I was so young my pink stroller can be found in the pictures, the feeling of pride I felt that day has stuck with me, and they have only become more significant with time. Throughout my life, my mother has faced countless challenges. In hopes of keeping my brother and I safe, she fled from a violent life of domestic abuse and has single handedly continued to provide for us. She has demonstrated resilience, determination, and resolve that I can’t help but marvel. She masks her worries with a smile and puts everyone’s needs before her. Every day she proves to me no matter what oppositions we face, there is no stopping an educated, confident woman with a goal. For nearly two decades, I’ve watched my mother be a beacon of love and compassion to countless souls, despite whatever burdens she may be facing. Moreover, I’ve bore witness to the greatness she has inspired in the students whom she also considers to be children of her own. As one of the lucky two that get to go home with her, I also have unmediated experience with the flaws that make her perfectly imperfect. To know a woman capable of touching the hearts of so many, can struggle with her own demons, assures me that I too can overcome any obstacles. It has been instilled in me, so long as I never stop learning, anything is possible. It’s thanks to my mother, I grew up believing I could achieve any aspirations I put my mind and heart to. She has shown me that in a world dominated by men, women are able to accomplish anything a man could with unrivaled passion and grace. As a science teacher she introduced me to a world of inquiry and exploration. In fact, some of my fondest memories are losing ourselves in discovery with the experiment sets she would buy me and going to her biology class to participate in the dissection labs with her students. I inherited her love of science resulting in me currently pursuing a STEM degree. In studying a degree severely underrepresented with women, especially minority women, I plan to shatter that glass ceiling! Despite how determined I am, this semester at UTSA has proven exceptionally difficult for me. I am alone, far from home, and missing my family and friends profoundly. I am drowning in a sea of endless deadlines and assignments. I have cried more times this semester, than I want to admit. In addition, the financial hardship this is putting on my mom, makes me feel she has taken on a huge burden to allow me to follow my dreams. I know she is struggling to pay for my tuition and apartment, yet every time I call her, instead of telling me to come home, she puts her troubles aside and encourages me to keep going. So, when I feel overwhelmed and want to give up, I think of my mother who is more than my inspiration, she is my motivation to keep pursuing my education. As a firsthand witness to the trials, she’s endured, and the tribulation we’ve conquered, because of her I am destined to succeed not only for my benefit, but so she may one day find comfort in the struggles that helped shape us.