Mother’s Day is almost here, and why not celebrate the holiday by reflecting on how your mom has shaped you? You know what they say: “Mother knows best.” Generally speaking, that’s true! What advice has your mommy shared with you over the years? What motherly advice made a difference in your life?
Here at Petite2Queen, we love our moms! Here is some of the best motherly advice we’ve gotten from our dear mamas.
Lynn: My Mom’s Fashion Wisdom
The best advice I ever received from my mother I refused to take. Now, granted, I was a senior in high school, so there’s that. However, it taught me a valuable lesson to listen to advice and consider it even when it’s unsolicited and unwanted. Often there are valuable insights and experiences shared that can help you shape your decision.
In this case, it was all about the dress I would wear at my high school graduation ceremony. I wanted a long formal dress for the occasion. My mother encouraged me to purchase a short dress that I would be able to wear far more often. The more she suggested a short dress, the more I dug in my heels and refused to even consider it.
So, come graduation day, I wore my long formal dress and was unique in my apparel choice. I was envious of my classmates who wore short dresses or pants, and were far more comfortable with ease of movement than I was in my long dress. It also made me feel a bit weird that I was one of only two young women who wore long formal dresses. While I was okay with standing out, I recognized that I would’ve been better off listening to my mother’s astute advice.
This epiphany has helped me for the rest of my life: Take a moment and stop to consider the recommendations and advice from others. What a profound difference this experience has had on my life. So thank you, mom, for that sage and beneficial advice all those years ago. I learned a valuable and enduring lesson.
Alison: Learning Feminist Values from Mom
The best value my mom instilled in me at a young age was being my own woman. A staunch feminist, she hated Barbie’s unrealistic body image standards and steered me away from Disney stories that were about the “damsel in distress.” She wanted me to realize that a woman’s identity can be defined in many different ways. She was against the fact that society pushes young girls to conform to gender stereotypes and tried to provide me with different options to explore.
Many of my girl friends growing up wore pink, played with Barbies, and wanted to be Disney princesses, but I wasn’t obsessed with those things. Thanks to my mom, growing up I never considered my gender as a barrier to doing things. I grew up to be very secure in my identity, knowing that women can be whoever they want to be.
Rachel: A Mother’s Advice on Swallowing Pride
My mother once told me what she had been teaching by example my whole life: Take what you need and give what you can. What does she mean by this? We all go through hard times, and, sometimes, the situation is such that you can’t get out of it on your own. Sometimes, being too proud to ask for or accept help is the worst thing you can do. My mom taught me a lesson many people refuse to learn: Swallow your pride and get help. Whatever aid you need, don’t be afraid to ask for it or accept it if it’s being offered. On the flip side, when you’re able to do so, help the people around you in need.
I get tired of asking for help sometimes. It seems like I always need just a little extra money or extra time, and asking for loans from family or extensions from supervisors gets exhausting and disheartening. Of course, not taking the help would have disastrous results. I always “take what I need” because I’m no use to anyone if I don’t.
The sugar that makes that bitter medicine go down is “giving what I can.” When I have the opportunity to buy someone lunch, donate to a charity, or be generous with my time for someone else, I do it. Giving other people a little reprieve is rewarding.
My mom understands a very basic idea which many of us often forget, which is that people helping each other is what makes a community function. Giving and taking that help is just a normal part of social life. People aren’t meant to be completely self-sufficient, so rely on your support network when you need to, and provide that support when you can. It’s nice to know you have those connections.
Amanda: Mommy’s Lessons in Likability
From my earliest childhood memories, my mom always had one piece of advice that stood out: “People like people who are likable.” It’s similar to the adage that you should treat others the way you want to be treated. This simple message is one I’ve always taken to heart.
Throughout grade school and college and into my adult life, I’ve always tried to be the nicest version of myself that I can be. To me, being likeable means being helpful, saying kind things to others and having good manners, being upbeat and positive, and, above all, being happy. These things don’t always come easily, especially if you’re having a bad day. But Mommy ingrained these values in me at such a young age that I learned to embody them. No matter who I’m talking to, no matter what’s going on in my life, I always remember to be likable. Not only does it make others feel good, it makes you feel good.
My mom didn’t just talk the talk – she lived her advice each day. She is one of the most likable people I’ve ever known, and I’ve always aimed to be like her. Neither one of us is perfect, but we both know the value of being likable.
Christina: My Mother’s Encouragement to Take My Time
My mother always advises me to take my time. By others’ standards, I’m pretty slow when it comes to my processes, but by hers I’m impatient. Admittedly, it’s advice I do need. I’ve jumped and almost jumped the gun on a lot of important life decisions. If it hadn’t been for her, I probably would have spent 200 dollars more on rent per month for a year in a dimly lit, moldy studio room.
Though, despite my impulsive tendencies having been put to check by her advice, my mom sometimes has a tendency to wait too long. We had a whole month to move out from an apartment, once, but everything was condensed to a single day move-out. Sometimes we’ve missed out on opportunities because of this wait-game, and I honestly think these results are what’s fed into the fervor I get when it comes to securing resources before someone else does.
It’s good to wait. Sometimes there’s still droplets of information that have yet to hit your atmosphere. And, when you’re making important decisions, you want to have all the information and options you can get. You never know if that one droplet of information can be a game-changing curveball to your entire set of plans.
That said, to circumvent that problem of waiting too long, it’s good to set reasonable soft and hard deadlines.
Petite2Queen provides virtual mentoring to young women in life, at work, and in sales. Follow us for more practical advice you can put to use to improve your life and career.
Christina Kim is the Design and Content Artist at Petite2Queen. She is working towards a Bachelor’s Degree in Entertainment Arts at Los Angeles Academy of Figurative Art. She creates graphics for the Petite2Queen website – including headers for Ask Lynn posts and Webinars – as well as our marketing materials.