Dear Mom,
There aren’t enough words for what you’ve meant to me but if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that trying still matters. So here it is: my attempt to thank you, to honor you, to say what too often goes unsaid.
You’ve always been my steady place. Not just home, but ground. Through everything— the chaos, the silence, the miles, the weight of mistakes I had to carry and unlearn— you were never far. You’ve held hope when I couldn’t hold anything. You’ve stood with me, even when it cost you, even when I had nothing to offer but regret and the will to do better.
It’s your voice I hear when I remember who I want to be.
You taught me how to fight not with fists, but with fire. With dignity. With words that cut through darkness and still make room for light. You showed me what love looks like when it’s not easy or pretty or safe. When it’s tested. When it shows up anyway.
Because of you, I believe in becoming. I believe in second chances. I believe that even in a place like this, a place built to erase people, love can still build something better. That belief came from you.
So today, on Mother’s Day, I want to say thank you. For every sacrifice. For every letter. For every memory you refused to let the world steal from us. You’ve given me more than support. You’ve given me the shape of who I am, and the courage to keep shaping who I’m becoming.
You are the bravest woman I know. I love you endlessly.
With purpose and fire,
Kai