Atouani Abdennour, 18, Tendrara

An Extraordinary Woman

After that my dad passed away in 2013, she addressed to me with watering eyes and serious tone in her voice and said: "your father died, and from now on I don't want you to worry about anything. I will be the mother, the father, and the warm shelter" and so she was.

She is a great mother who provided love and caring. She worries about us like nobody does, when I am sick I can feel her heart beating along with mine, she always says that she wishes she could transfer my pain to her body and take the pain instead of my poor body. All my life she was there for me. She is besides me through my worst days reminding me that no matter how dark it gets, the sun will rise no matter what, you just have to stick to your dream and be strong. My mother was a symbol of generosity. She never refuses guests; she would make them feel better about themselves instead. Because of that, she was the center of her neighbors’ attention. That made a huge impact on my life because I knew that happiness is in helping others. In addition to that, she was the responsible father whom I looked after.

Although she is just a regular Moroccan woman who never went to school, she managed her family excellently. She never made us feel poor. And whenever the family faces troubles, she always manages to find solutions with a big smile. My mother is the thinking mind of our little family; she is the one to take hard decisions for all of us. Furthermore, she is the safe shelter in which I feel like my soul is peaceful, since she was like the protector of the family.

She defends me when she knows I am right and sacrifices all she has in order to raise responsible and successful grown ups. She always guided me with advice keeping me out of the danger zone. I recall one day I asked her: “how can I make it for you for all

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the beautiful things you did for me?” She simply said : “never say that again! Have you ever seen a cloud asking the beautiful flowers to pay it back for the rain? Of course not! My biggest wish is to see you all grown and successful and see you helping those who are in need and seeking the truth.”

She always tells me to stick to my books and studies because it is the key to success and a portal to a better life. So she decided to be literate as well. Consequently she joined illiteracy fighting classes. I saw something in her eyes; it was the strong will of learning. Everyday I saw her fighting against the letters and the numbers in her book to prove that if she can do it. I can do it too. Day by day, I started getting more confident because of her encouragement. Her smile makes everyone in the family happy and brings peace. One of my huge goals in life is to never let that smile disappear. I always try to keep her happy because I know that my happiness is in keeping her happy and as long as she smiles, I know that life is still good. And watching her working hard to make my siblings and I feel comfort and not in need pushed me to achieve my full potential. Consequently I work harder in school in order to repay her in the future when becoming successful. I am proud to be a son of an extraordinary woman.

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