Sadly, I was definitely that annoying little teenager that that never appreciated their parents. I was lost in my own world and lived inside my head. Even still, my parents were there for me and never judged me. I knew I could always go to them with my embarrassing and shameful moments, because God knows I had a rough couple years. Even though I was that gal that stayed in her room to listen to music or talk on the phone all day, I’d still make my way to their room at least once a week to vent about my teenage life. So as I grew up my mom became my best friend.

She would give me a lot of advice and life hacks but it always seemed like I didn’t want to listen or that I wanted to do my own thing. It wasn’t until I got married and moved out that I realized my mother’s words were stored in my heart. I knew that I wanted to keep some of those values and morals that my mother taught me.

One of the things she’s taught me is: ALWAYS be the bigger person. This one was so hard for me as a young person. I’ve seen her forgive people so many times. I’ve seen people hurt her and never say sorry yet she still smiles and welcomes them. This honestly gives me strength as I deal with offenses all the time. I mean who doesn’t? It’s comforting to know that I have a mom that has been through some of the same things as me but she always chooses to be the bigger person. She does this ONE, for God and also to show her family that we can ignore the negativity and keep going.

The other thing to know about my mom is that she’s always semi- stalking me. Anyone else with me? For the last decade I’ve been on and off the stage singing, traveling to some awesome places and meeting great people. Throughout that time, my mom’s always been that person who will watch and comment on every video or photo that I post. She’s my number one fan! Some might find it annoying but I like to keep it in the back of my head that she’s always “watching me.” I sort of like to keep her in mind like, IS THIS MOM APPROVED? So you’ll often hear me say “Hi Mom” in most of my videos because it’s my way of acknowledging that I may have said something that wasn’t- “Mom Approved." Basically she's like my sub-conscious. This has caused me to always be aware that what I say or do, has an impact on people whether it's good or bad.

As we grow up, we tell ourselves that we will be our own person, that we will be different but there are things I want to continue that my mother has showed me. These are things that I want to  pass on to my family: be the bigger person and always be aware of your actions. These are only two but of course the list could go on and on. Anyways, HI MOM!