I am single mother of a soon to be 10 year old. It has not always been easy raising my son. I once had a partner, his dad, who took care of us both. I was stay at home mom. Unfortunately our relationship did not work out. I chose to become a single working mom. I was scared, because I was so co dependent on my son's father. I had no money of my own. I packed what I could fit my Toyota Corolla and drove nine hours to stay with my mother. My mother welcomed my son and I with open arms, but it was very difficult. My step father and I do not see eye to eye, never have. He constantly belittled me in front of guests, it was emotionally and mentally hard to live in the same household. I got a job month after I arrived and worked constantly, I barely got to see my son. I hated my job, I had constant anxiety and depression. I was on medication and it did not help much. My son ended up in the hospital and I chose then to quit my job and start looking for another job, after a week a found an office job that had great hours and I was able to see my son and spend time with him. After a year, my job changed, people were let go, I was promoted and the company changed. They had me working late hours and weekends. I felt stuck and again had no where else to go. Through it all I saved as much money as I could, not spending my tax return and if I got paid three times in a month, I would put that check into my savings. I am not going to lie, it was hard, we didn't go as much, and I did not buy things for myself. But at one point, I got an amazing raise, stilly not the ideal job, but I was able to finally move out and into an apartment I could afford. I finally felt amazing, but my anxiety and depression were still there. I chose to go back to school because of my own personal experience of finally being diagnosed with General Anxiety Disorder. I let my mother know and she thought it was something I made up, our relationship was strained, but I educated her that mental health is important, that is not taught or talked about in our culture, it is ignored. I did not want to feel little anymore and I do not want anyone else to feel the way I felt because their life circumstances changed. I want to be a voice for people whether single mom or not wanting to make it in life and not having the support they needed. I want to advocate for them. That is why I chose my career path as License Professional Counselor, in hopes of helping someone and getting the resources they needed.

My mother worked two jobs when my biological father left us. He took the car and all the money in the account they shared. She did not have a choice and no one to help take care of three children. It was up to my 8 year sister to take care of us. My mother worked hard, we barely got by, she refused to get on medicare and WIC. She went to the fire station for food, relied on the our elementary school for school supplies, our church for clothes, shoes, and toy donations. I knew what it was like to grew up poor, but never knowing that you were actually poor. As I got older, my mother still worked two jobs, I was never angry or resented her. We had a home, food, and clothes. My mother, a Salvadorian who immigrated here, had no one by her cousin to help her navigate living in Queens, New York, the language barrier, the culture differences. She taught me to work hard, appreciate the little things. My mother, Gladis, never showed her emotions, never cried in front of us, that is until my grandfather and my uncle passed away years apart. As we got older, she became strict, she didn't want us to go running with the bad crowd, but unfortunately that is what my sister did. She became a statistic and became pregnant twice in her teenage years. My mother always made sure to tell me to not end up like my sister and I vowed to her that I would not. Once I graduated high school, I was very lost, depressed, and scared. I was not sure what I wanted to do with my life. I was lost. I decided to take a semester off and work and then went to community college and chose to drop out. I was not ready for school. I wanted to party and that is what I did. I met someone I thought I was love and moved away, he had money, something I grew up not having. It was an experience, had a child, and unfortunately things became toxic, I was depressed, anxious, stressed and lost of a lot weight. I was co dependent on this person ask I never told my mother at the time. I chose to leave and I told her everything and accepted my son and I. I was very broke, had to work crazy hours in retail, never getting to see my son. She taught me to push through and to persevere, supported me at times financially, helped raise my son, did things she missed out on doing with my siblings and I. She is my hero, because of her, I want to give back to my community, I want to become a License Professional Counselor. In my culture we are taught that there is no such thing as mental health, but mental health is so important especially when you life is impacted my major life events or not. You need support and I want to be that support that exists for our community, because not everyone has one. Thank you, mom, I love you and thank you for making me who I am.