My mother became a single mother a month before my birth. My father was incarcerated and she was left 8 months pregnant with my two older siblings. She had three young children to take care of. I was not old enough to remember what happened during those first few years, but I know she struggled. She would go to work, while my aunt babysat me. Once my brother was out of school, his 9-year-old self would pick me up from my aunt’s and take me home. Once my mother gathered enough money, we moved from Texas to California, which is where she had my uncle’s support. In California, my undocumented mother was able to work in farm fields and vineyards picking vegetables and grapes. With the amount of money she was making, all we could afford was the rent of a small room, which she managed to fit three children and herself along with the little belongings we had. Before rushing off to work in the morning, my mother would drop me off at the babysitter’s house, while my siblings went to school. Working in fields required her to stay extra hours, which she did not mind since we needed the money. However, that did not leave much room for her to be at home with us. Even then, though, she always knew how to make up for the lost time. She’d find time to play with us, give us kisses and hugs, and overall, just give us love. To be honest, the living conditions were not ideal. Many of the places we lived in had rats, cockroaches, and spiders. We’d have to deal with moving every year or every few years. We either slept on the floor or shared a bed. However, there was never a dull moment. We were able to bond together since we all slept together and we were even able to bond over the rat problems. Even though we experienced many hard moments as a family, I would say that growing up with a single mother was not so bad. Growing up with a single mother shaped who I am today. I am extremely grateful for the little things in life, for the food I can eat, for the blankets I can cover myself with at night, for the roof over my head, and especially for having such a loving family I can always count on. Growing up with the family I had made me into a family-oriented person. It shaped me to always help others, especially because we were once in the shoes of those who needed help. I also learned to take nothing for granted and everything as an opportunity. Even now, I was given the opportunity for a higher education and I definitely won’t take it for granted. I’ll be honest. Writing this made me cry. I always knew my family struggled so much during those years, but I look back at it and realize just how much they preserved through those struggles, not just my mom but also my siblings. There was my brother, who went from having a father to becoming a father figure for us and the only man in my mother’s life who was there to help her, and there was my sister, who was always there to help me with my homework and was always my friend. I hold a deep respect and admiration for my family and that will never change.

My favorite Taylor Swift song of all time is “Wildest Dreams.” The first time I watched the music video and listened to the song, I remember that my sister and I were home alone. My mother and brother were working, so my brother left us his phone to use only in case of an emergency, but as little kids, we were going to use it to watch videos and entertain ourselves. Back then, I knew nothing about artists. I just knew music was fun and that it usually sounded nice. My sister was the one that thought of putting Taylor Swift. I remember we listened to “Bad Blood” first. I loved the music video. I thought it was so cool. I still do. I especially loved it when Zendaya came out because I had watched her on Disney Channel. “Wildest Dreams” was up next. The moment it came on, it felt so different compared to anything I had ever heard. The song was so catchy and the breathy parts made the words in the song sound so beautiful. Those were my favorite parts. It made the song sound like it was from a fairy tale. I also loved the video. It was so different from what I had seen before. I remember most music videos back then portraying modern images or even futuristic ones, but “Wildest Dreams” went completely in the opposite direction. It reminded me of movies I had watched as a little kid of sincere and unconditional love. The kind of love that is seen in movies where couples elope and grow old together, the love where a soldier comes back to their loved one after war. Although that is not what seems to happen in the music video, I still could feel some kind of old love from the song and music video combined. Even though Taylor Swift has come out with even more awesome music, my favorite song from her is still “Wildest Dreams.” Now, however, as a teenager, I still have these visions crossing through my mind when listening to this song, but new ones have been added as well. Now, I also think about my own love life. Even though I haven’t had much of one, when I hear “Wildest Dreams”, it makes me think of myself with someone in the future. It makes me want sincere and unconditional love, a love that won’t forget about me. I feel I resonate with this song the most right now because as a teenager with no love life, this vision feels like a dream, one of my wildest dreams.