I am eternally grateful to have had such an amazing upbringing. It was never sunshine and rainbows, but having parents like mine to show my siblings and I the beauty in the struggle was instrumental in my mental development as a young adult. As a child, whenever I would feel overwhelmed, my mother would lay me down and let me play with her flowing, black hair, while she prayed for better days.

This haiku was my first and only choice. It reminded me so much of my mother; a strong, independent, and spiritual woman, who was renown in our village as the woman with the most beautiful hair in the Dominican Republic.