Crisanta Antonio

I love my mom. My mother is the one who gave me life. My mother is the one who sacrificed. My mother is the one who gives me love. She is the one sent from up above.

When people get asked what a hero is, their typical answers would be someone who sacrifices his or her own life for someone else’s by doing a noble deed. Crisanta is my mom and my hero. I’m not saying that my dad is not special to me, because he really is, but I want to highlight my mom‘s gift of giving. My mom might not have done anything important that could be put in the history books, but she does everything for her family. She is my savior, my guardian, and my safety net to fall on when things go south.

Not only has my mother been there for me, but she has been there for the family that she has moved away from over a decade ago. She is the most selfless person I have ever met in my life. She does things not for her benefit, but the benefit of everyone else. She does what she has to do to satisfy everyone’s needs and finds time for herself when she is not taking care of us.

My mom was born and raised in the Philippines and things were not always as easy as they are now. Growing up in the Philippines in the old days was really hard. My mom told me stories of her childhood and how they did not have bathrooms or beds. My grandparents made enough money to make it through the day, but things like college were out of the question. My mom always wanted to be a nurse, but her dream was abruptly ended because it was impossible to afford it.

My family and I when I was 12 years old.

By moving to Hawaii, she was making changes in her life to benefit both my sister and me. She told herself that she would not only have the opportunity to get everything that my sister and I needed, but could meet the needs of her family in the Philippines also. Life was not always easy when we first moved to Hawaii. My dad worked three jobs and my mom sewed clothes for Sears and worked for Dashcovers of Hawaii, but my parents worked their way up in society and now own their own cleaning business. Being more fortunate helped my mom by allowing her to help out my grandmother, aunties and uncles by sending them money every month, just to help them out with their finances. Just recently, she sent them money to build a new house. My family is not the richest family in the world, and we do struggle at times, but my mom always finds a way to support my family in the Philippines as much as she can. I did not understand why she had to give them so much money, but I realized that they needed it more than I did and I admire my mom’s giving nature.

My parents at a picnic.

My mom and I might not always see eye to eye, but I know she does certain things for me because she knows what is best. She has a way of always wanting things her way and she is a strict mom at times, but if it were not for my mom’s ability to push me to my limit, I would not be who I am today. Without her, I do not even think I would be motivated to go to school and actually study hard enough to get good grades. I do it all for her because I know how much she wanted to be a nurse and how she did not have the opportunity to go to college, but I do and I do not want to ruin my chances.

Her famous words are, “Study hard, and one day you can buy whatever you want.” She always tells me this whenever I want to buy something expensive because she considers my sister and me to be too spoiled, but I’m glad she only expects the best out of me.

I want my mom to know that I might not always show my appreciation, but I really admire her willingness to be patient with me. She is my hero because of everything she sacrifices for my happiness. I love her to death. Without her guidance, I would be nothing.