Right from when I was little, I felt I was special. Not because someone told me that in a dream or revealed it to me in a trance, and definitely not because I was born with an inscription on my palm or something, but because my mother told me so. She never missed an opportunity to emphasize why she knew I was special; she’d tell me little stories every now and then about me, my names, and how she dreams the impossible for my future. Over time it grew on me, and no one could convince me otherwise. I’d have it in the back of my mind when I come face-to-face with huge decisions, always leaning towards the paths that look like they’re made for one with a defined purpose to do great things. I doubt I’m the only one with such an experience; our mothers just have this ability to see the deepest parts of us before we even realize them. The part they play in our lives can never be overemphasized or overestimated. We get to go far in life and become the beautiful things we want to be, often times because our mothers believed it even before we did. AnjolaDave, 2026.