umma

my mother.

i have taken her for granted.
not seeing her for so long has made me realize that.

tonight,
as we shared a delicious homecooked meal at midnight,
my mom and i talked for two wonderful hours.
i told her about what i learned in college,
history, religion, and her experiences with college.

during our talk,
i came to realize how wise my mom is.
i always tried to zone out the things she said to me,
as if they were just meaningless jibber jabber.
but as i actually took the time to really listen to her advice,
i see things so much more clearly.

i was so scared to tell her about some aspects of my college life,
the weekends, the undie run, especially after what happened last night.
but an hour into our conversation,
i decided to tell her everything.

and you know what?
she is so understanding.

my mother is one of the most conservative people i know,
and yet has no problem with me participating in the undie run.
she understands that this is the culture of UCSB,
it is a ritual.
it is just like reading Harry Potter.
we don't believe in magic,
in fact,
we are totally against magic.
but we still read and enjoy these novels,
because it is a part of our culture.

in the same way
the undie run is our way of releasing stress from finals
and liberating ourselves.
this is what we do.

i don't regret it at all
it has nothing to do with my faith in God,
or expressing myself as a Christian.

i love my mom-
she is amazing.
the wisest woman i know.

not to mention,
i got an A on the religious studies term paper,
which i wrote about my mom.
smileyface for days.