My Supports

Support to me means providing someone with an extra “hand”, or encouraging someone, regardless of the situation. Support can come in varies forms, for instance encouraging someone to go back to school, helping them financially and/or emotional, and providing them with feedback (both negative or positive).

My support system includes my mom, my dad, my brother, my fiancé, my friends,

• My parents always wanted the best for my brother and me. They always encouraged us to be the best we could be, and to never give up. My dad was the bread winner in the family, and my home was a house wife, so one income was coming in. This was a challenge in itself because there were four (4) mouths to feed with one income. Twenty years ago, that income was enough to get us food to eat, clothes on our backs and a roof over our heads. I am thankful to them both for supporting me in many ways.

If I did not have those encouraging words from my parents, I do not think I would be where I am today. It was not the perfect life, but it was definitely a life that I learned from. Parents always want their children to have more than what they had growing up.

• Maybe during our teenage years, me and my brother got closer. We are able to speak, share our thoughts/ideas, and although he gets upset with me, he does help me in any way he can. My brother will always encourage me and support me in any decision I make. He was someone I could go to when I did not want to tell my parents something because they would not understand.

If I did not have my brother around, I would not be able to have someone to bother on a daily basis :-). In addition to that, I would not have the shared wisdom of a big brother, the tough-love, in-depth conversations, and encouragement.

• My fiancé and I have grown up together. We went through the ups and downs, the good and bad, the rights and wrongs. I know there are many more to come but I feel as if we are in a better place. He was there for me when my mother got breast cancer, when I felt extremely down and low about myself, when I needed encouragement, when I thought no one cared about me and so much more. He has been my partner in crime for 10 years now, and I would not change it for the world.

My mom was not very supportive of this relationship because she believed he would ruin my schooling, my focus, and my achievements. She believed I was too young to date. I feel in love young, but made sure he was not going to distract me. He was very supportive with high school and the drama that comes with it, college, work, decisions, life etc. This was definitely a challenge growing up, but in the long run it worked.

• My friends are always there to talk to whether it is about work, school, boyfriends, or just life in general. We are very supportive of one another and give each other feedback (not in a condescending way). My friends and I vary in age, however, that does not stop us from connecting. Rather it strengths the friendship because of the knowledge we all bring.

I lost my high school friends because life pushed us in different paths, so being able to gain new friends. If I did not have these friends, I would feel kind of lonely in this world. I say this because although I have my fiancé, it is always great to have your girlfriends to hang out with.

• Another support system I have is listening to music and drawing. A perfect example is the other day, while doing homework, I randomly turned on the radio and heard some old-time songs. I did not know some of them, but they were comforting. The songs I did know, I sang along with and my mom joined in. Even if I did not listen or sing every word, it was like white noise in the background.

 

I am very thankful I am able to have such a great support system, and having it grow throughout the years.