Tressa Fields

My hero is my mother, she is the oldest of 10 born to a 14yr old mother in the backwoods of Louisiana.

She is my hero because she had to quit school in the 6th grade to help raise her 9 brothers and sisters and take care of her mother. Then she met and fell in love with my father and had us 7 children, unfortunately my father turned out to be a drug addict and abuser. So, she packed us 7 kids up and left, all the while determine to raise us right. She had hardships, my youngest brother was born with a bad heart and was in and out of the hospital from his 6 month of life until his death at 2 1/2 but she raised us by herself with some help from her family while caring for my dying brother. Since she wasn't educated beyond middle school, finding a job to care for us was impossible so she raised us in Thibodaux Louisiana, a small town in the projects, on welfare which at that time was $360.00 a month.

We never were without food, clothing or shelter. Being the mother that she is, she became the neighborhood mother. I would meet kids at schools with problems at home, they would come to visit me and take my mother as their mother, she helped a lot of them deal with their hardship. I love this woman because of her strength and determination. She raised all of us to be successful, determined and independent! She gave us a backbone, spirituality and taught us how to have loving care for others and help them out when we can. That's why she is my hero, she made me the woman I am today.