I believe that single parents could save the world…
If the X-Men were to face a new breed of super heroes known as the Single Parent Squad, the X-Men would be defeated. The Single Parent Squad would be able to problem solve and think their way through any situation, leaving the X-Men with nothing more than a few useless powers. The Single Parent Squad would have extreme endurance to run circles around the X-Men, they would be able to use their superior foresight, and they could feed and cloth their offspring with a single paycheck. The Single Parent Squad will always be my favorite brand of super hero…the kind that would lug the shirt off of their back to see others succeed. I will always admire my own super hero single mom who always put my needs before her own, and who put her children on a pedestal and supported her children no matter how complex the situation was.
One of my first childhood memories was being fiercely awoken in the middle of the night to the roaring scream of sirens approaching my motor home. My mother ran into my room and clumsily fumbled to push apart the thin blinds of the bedroom I shared with my little sister to see what stirred us awake in the dark streets of our neighborhood. We heard gunshots across the street and my mom demanded that we hide under the window while we wondered what could have caused such calamity across the street. An hour later, the sirens became faint and the night became deathly quiet again. We later found out that there had been a violent drug bust across the street, and that gunshots had been fired by a suspect who had barricaded himself within his motor home. We found out shortly after the drug incident, that another next door neighbor, whom my mother was friends with, had committed suicide.
My mother is my best friend in the entire world. She has taught me all of the values that I have today. Through her example, I have learned that being underprivileged financially is no excuse for not pursuing my dreams. She has taught me to never give up on anything, and that goals and dreams are what make life have substance and value. Even when we had no food in our cupboards, my mother would scramble to find peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to make for dinner. She never gave up and gave my sister and me her last five dollars, so that we could buy lunch at school. She has taught me the value of courage and has shown me that love is unconditional, no matter the circumstance. My mother is a new breed of super hero….a tough and unwavering kind of hero. She wears her cape beneath her clothes and her heart on her sleeve. Her naturally sturdy build is a physical manifestation of her inner strength of character. My mother’s will is made of steel…watch out Superman.