The reality of college hit me today and I started crying; I could not tell from which emotion the tears ran, but they were torrential. A million thoughts flowed through my head of leaving, of travelling over three-thousand miles away, of not awaking every morning to the sound of my mother's voice. My mind was bombarded by images of freedom, of the infinite choices that lay ahead of me. I realized I'd be living alone next year with nobody to watch over me, nobody to guard me, nobody to protect me. I suppose, in many ways, this is the ebb and flow of life: one soul guarded now sets off to hold vigil over another. Yet, even as I write this I realize that I will never be out of the protection of my mother; her spirit will always hover over me and in my heart. That common thread flowing between mother and son is the eternal constant to which I can always turn and feel safe.
It is now that I begin to reflect upon the past: upon how I've lived my life up to this point, how I've treated my peers, how I've treated my mother. In all honesty I have not been the best to her; I have not shown her the respect and dignity she deserves. I do not, however, regret my actions; instead I see in my past failures an opportunity to grow, to change, and to start anew. That, therefore, is my commitment: to return my mother's unconditional love for as long as I shall live.
