Teen Writer Xavier Talks About Lessons He Learned From His Mom
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When I think about my mother, I think of a few key lessons I’ve learned. I know I’m only 14 but a kid my age can learn a lot. Boys are expected to learn from their dads too and that’s great; but, moms have a lot of vision to offer that many of us don’t think about. We really don’t realize as we grow up how those lessons help with the directions of our lives until we actually need them.
I remember how my mom taught me:
- To be as honest as you can be – your word is who you are
- To always be caring – everyone has a story even the meanest people
- To learn to cook for myself – you never know if you have to depend on only yourself to survive
- To pray – God is first my life and I believe my religion is important but don’t judge others
- To love your family – they are your first teachers and where your foundation comes from
I feel these lessons are very important because it helps you become healthy in your emotions and balance the stuff you can’t control as you grow up.
When I watch my mom take care of our family, I always think of how strong she must be to keep loving people no matter what other people do. She says, “love is unconditional, it’s people who put conditions in place to make love hard.” No matter who ends up raising you, it’s moms that carry us and provide nourishment just for us to be formed and that is the best gift a son could ever get. It’s because of these things that I think men and boys must learn to respect the women in their lives. I find it sad that many don’t realize the importance of teaching males to protect the women and girls they love like in the old days. Back in the day, people did it because they believed women were weaker and I’m here to tell you, you haven’t meant my mom and she’s as strong as it gets. The real reason people need to teach males to protect women is instead because they have a value to the world being the givers of life. No other body is made to carry the human race but a woman’s body. Without them there is no us so why shouldn’t we be taught to protect and respect them?
Having a younger sister at home makes me think about how she will be treated as an adult. I want to show her that I care about her so that she only allows herself to be with people who care about her and show her through respect and protection. She does the same for me and I see now that I’m kind of liking girls more that any girl that is disrespectful to me is not the right one so it really works both ways. When it’s all said and done, the best lesson is we all need to realize how much we need each other and how much we can learn from each other
Photo: JN/ Flickr
