1. Just do your best and I’ll be proud of you. Growing up, this was one of the things my mother told me most. It was also one of the things I needed to hear the most. Throughout my educational career, throughout many cross country and track seasons, throughout the rigor of academic decathlon, she always told me “do your best and I’ll be proud of you.” I never wanted to let her down. 

2. You should always write neatly. This makes me laugh because when I was little, she really made me practice for hours until my A’s, B’s, C’s, etc. were all perfect. It seems inconsequential now, but it taught me to have pride in my work and always make sure it was presentable.

3. You should always be considerate of other people’s feelings. My mom is a sensitive person in general, so she’s sensitive to how her actions affect others. She always wants to make sure guests feel welcome, comfortable, and enjoy themselves.

4. Give generously without expectations of something in return. All throughout growing up, I watched my mom give my sister’s and my friends rides, cook them food, and take care of them when they needed it. All she wanted was a “Thank you” in return for all she gave.

5. When you fight, sometimes your pride or hurt will get in the way, but sometimes you have to have the strength to be the one who reaches out first. Just like any other mother and daughter relationship, we have had our many turbulent fights. Especially when I was a teenager. Wow. Makes me wince to think about what a brat I was. But one valuable lesson I learned was that sometimes you have to swallow your pride and be the first one who says “I’m sorry” and admit when you’re wrong.

6. Don’t half-ass cleaning. Ever. Do it thoroughly. To do less is embarrassing and shows that you’re lazy. I would always moan and groan when mom would give me a Q-tip and explain to me that I would have to clean every nook and cranny. “But no one will seeeeee it. Wah wah wah.” Now I find myself making sure everything is thoroughly clean because I don’t expect any less. It makes me value what I have and has taught me that you need to take care of it. Just like the lesson I learned from making sure my A’s were perfect, it’s all about how you present yourself. 

7. Be selfless. My mom always put others first before herself. It wasn’t all about her. She saw the bigger picture of life. Life’s meaning comes from the love you share with other people.

8. There’s always joy in the little things. I will always remember my most favorite Christmas ever when we got a package that was full of paper confetti. She picked up handfuls of it and threw it at us. We had the most fun with a paper confetti fight. We knew it would be hell to clean up later, but it was worth it. To this day I will still find a piece of paper confetti, and I will smile. My mom had no pretense. She took joy in the little things most people are too cool to think is fun. For example during a baby shower, I told her that nobody would want to play her clothespin game, but it was the highlight of the day. Yes, my mom is pretty awesome.

9. Love means saying you’re sorry. There was a hit movie in the 70s called Love Story with the infamous quote “Love means never having to say you’re sorry.” But my mom taught me that that’s a big lie. Thanks Hollywood. Truth is, you have to say sorry. It shows that you care.

10. Getting an education is one of the most important things you can do. “Books before boys.” Always.

11. Making a difference in somebody else’s life is also one of the most important things you can do. My mom is one of the biggest influences on my desire to be a teacher someday. She herself was a teacher, and I love seeing her with her old students. My mom taught 6th grade back in the Philippines, and her students still love her. I will always remember watching her amongst a group of her students, the happiest I had ever seen her. Clearly she made a difference in these people’s lives.

12. Always strive for excellence. ALWAYS!

13. Sometimes people won’t appreciate you for what you do, but do it anyway. My mom is the epitome of this statement, real talk. She never let the fact that sometimes what she does go unappreciated keep her from caring for other people.

14. Get to know people. People can surprise you. My mom is seriously an amazing person. She was definitely amazing growing up. I didn’t know that she was the editor-in-chief at her newspaper for example. So I’ve taken it upon myself to get to know who people are. You can learn a lot from other people.

15. Respect is one of the most valuable things that people deserve more than they get and also should give more than they do. “Thou shalt respect thy mother and father.” I understand why this is a commandment now. Respect is so important and it has a tendency to be overdue. Respect the important people in your life, and make sure they know you do.

16. Make sure he treats you right. My mom has watched me have countless boyfriends, but she always made sure I knew this. Thanks mom.

17. Family is the most important thing. Always. Enough said.

18. Do what makes you happy. I’ll always appreciate my mom for encouraging my dreams. I realize I’m lucky that I have someone that’s supportive.

19. Have love for others. Love is the single most lacking thing in the world. Be one of those people who loves others. More people like this can save the world.

20. Go to church. My mom always prioritized going to church. Church is full of the most wholesome, loving, selfless people you’ll ever meet. My mom taught me to appreciate, down-to-earth, salt of the earth people.

21. Look with your eyes not with your mouth. It always annoyed me when my mom said this, but it’s true. It’s even more annoying to hear someone mouth off when they should be quiet and handle it.

22. Waste not, want not. Growing up I didn’t appreciate my mom’s thriftiness, but it has had a huge impact on my life. People seriously are consumed by what they consume. People are wasteful. Not only when it comes to material things, but also to experiences and opportunities.

23. Be humble. Growing up I was pretty cocky. My mom taught me that it’s important to have a great dose of humility. You are not all that. You have a lot to learn, and you can learn a lot from other people. Like my mom.

24. Think before you speak. Seriously important lesson. Thanks mom.

25. No whining. I was a big whiner when I was little. Trust that I was schooled. It’s true, why whine, when after you think about it, you realize there’s nothing really worth complaining about.

26. Life is hard, but you’ll get through it. My mom’s resilience through our family’s hardships, from my dad’s sickness, to our financial woes, to my mom raising two crazy adolescents by herself, inspires me.

27. Life is hard, but remember that you are blessed. Throughout all her hardship, my mom has kept her faith that no matter how hard it gets, life is still good, God is still good.

28. You can never have enough books. I am so blessed that my mom was an avid reader, and made sure that I was read to, and always had enough books. I have my drive to learn because of those books.

29. Always think about what you can give to or do for other people. Every now and then I’ll find some random thing in the house that I know is not for us, like a stocking that says “Rebecca” on it, or some random little boy’s clothes, and I’ll ask my mom about it and she said that she thought some other family could use it. My mom’s generosity never fails to amaze me.

30. Love until it hurts, and then love some more. I know that between me and my sister, we’ve caused my mom countless pain. And still when we tell her “I love you,” she says “I love you more.” Thank you mom so much for loving such unlovable girls.