Jessica Morales

“No matter what the circumstance - keep going forward,

keep pushing. Get things done.”

(Excerpt from an interview with Steven Portillo)

Florida, USA

My mom grew up in New York City in an area called Spanish Harlem. That area wasn't necessarily the best. There were a lot of gangs and definitely violence around. My mom grew up very independent because her mom (my grandma) was sick at a young age. She had to fend for herself in a lot of ways. Mom had to get her first job very early, moved out at age 17, and she's pretty much been independent since then. She had me at the age of 21 so for most of her life, she's been handling everything. Mom worked at a number of different jobs at different places here in Florida. What I noticed and I am quite proud of about her is that she excelled in every job because she kept getting recognized for her hard work and accomplishments.

Something that is distinct about her personality is how much she cares about her family and others around her. While she is compassionate, she has a very strong personality and she has no issue saying what's on her mind. I find that's something not a lot of people have courage to do these days. If there's something important that needs to be brought to people’s attention, she'll say something to make sure that happens. I admire that about her character. Mom cares and is committed that things are done right, the way things are supposed to be done.

My mom’s influence in me continuously grows every day. I have a lot of life to live and I know I will push forward in life because of her and what she has taught me. Mom told me that “No matter what the circumstance, to keep going forward, keep pushing, and to get things done.” And this has been proven to be valuable in my life. In that advice, I even find myself confident that I could be the best at what I choose to be.

This particular advice was very useful to me in a life and death situation when I was 12 yrs old. I was on Peanut Island swimming on the beach and a very strong current started to take me away from the boat that we were on, pulled me further away from land that I really felt I was getting swept out. I was exhausted treading water to stay afloat and in that moment I hear my mom’s voice in my head to keep going, keep pushing. If I stopped swimming, I'll drown so I had to keep going. I kept swimming!

Every time I hear my mom cheer me on to keep going on I kick into high gear. I remember when I was 15 yrs old, I was in a cross country race and I see her and hear her yelling “keep going Steven” as I was approaching the finish line, no matter how exhausted I was I had the ability to power through and even pass 5 other runners and made it to the end feeling accomplished. And that just kind of really stuck with me.

Those are two memories I won't forget about my mom’s advice to keep going. And I think back to how my mom was in her situation where she pretty much had to fend for herself, if she stopped going forward, she gets left behind and maybe she would not have survived. And I can see how she lives keeping this drive, determination for herself all the time.

Mom is also a demonstration that anything is possible. For a few years, mom had two jobs and had two children to take care of. She woke up early every morning, went to one job, came back home to take care of us, left to do the next job and came back home again. Committed and dedicated and maybe exhausted in all of that, mom managed to put a smile on her face. From seeing that role modeling, I can see how hard work pays off much and I learned that I could pretty much apply that philosophy to anything I am up to in life.

Right now, I am a 20 yr old full time College student, an educator for Hotwire Communications, an active volunteer at the Arthritis Foundation, and I am the youngest member of a leadership program that enables individuals to create teams and build successful projects. I also help with my family in terms of supporting my 3 younger siblings from both my mom and dad side. I’ve also started a volunteer platform called Valiant Volunteers which makes finding volunteer opportunities in Florida easier, and soon we are creating opportunities through a website to connect the opportunity with the people. My mission is to make that process more seamless to open a whole new world of possibilities for all of us to just create a better community. I have been able to keep going with school work, and all these responsibilities, and even add more things to my plate following the example my mom has set for me and I have expanded my ability as a person because of her.