“The very characteristics that society tells them to hide is what gives them the power to blaze their own paths. They’re exactly who they were always meant to be.”

‘Bossy’ Little Girls Grow Up To Be Assertive Women Who Change The World

‘The police came, and my mother hid my brother. ‘Where is he?’ I couldn’t leave. I had to protect them.’: Woman survives abuse, abandonment as she helps raise 4 special needs siblings
“My step-father would hide food and I wasn’t allowed to sit with them. Then I got pregnant at 17. I had to run and hide wherever I found a good place, and sometimes it was too late. I had to protect my brothers.”

‘I’m going to be a nurse like you, mom!’ You are going to change the world, one patient at a time.’: Nurse pens letter to future child, ‘Healthcare needs you’
“It’s not glamorous. Most of the time it’s quite the opposite. Messy. Ugly. Difficult. Painful. Exhausting. You will get burnt out and want to quit. But don’t you dare forget your why. Remember, it’s so worth it.”

‘I have a lot more respect for you now, mom.’ ‘My daughter turned to me and spoke the words I’d been waiting my entire life to hear!’ Mom explains why the ‘teenager years’ are her favorite stage yet
“I had to hide my youthful giddiness and play it cool. The older, wiser mom will tell you the toddler years are the best of all. That in the blink of an eye, our kids will be mini-adults and the days of cuddles and air-blown kisses will be gone. NO ONE tells you the cool things that happen.”

‘He found the one man in the mall he felt deserved a ‘thank you.’ A man wearing a Navy veteran’s hat.’: Proud mom watches from afar as son thanks elderly man for his service
“Without hesitation, he respectfully stood before that man who came 50 years before him, and told him he could rest easy, and that his generation would take it from there. All those sleepless nights, all the tears — magically disappeared. It suddenly became worth it.”

‘We have that number beat!’ Massachusetts fire department has 9 BABIES born in less than a year, ‘fire wives’ strike up healthy competition
“2 of which were even born on the same day! This department is on fire!”

‘Babies having babies.’ That’s what my doctor said in the delivery room. I felt every range of emotion.’: Teen mom decides to prove doctor ‘wrong’ by being the best mom possible
“I lay in premature labor at 17 years old, as If I wasn’t terrified enough already. I made a decision that evening as I laid in the hospital bed ready to bring my son into the world. I was going to prove that doctor wrong. I was going to grow up in the next few hours and prepare myself to raise this child as an adult, not a teenager. This boy was going to become my entire world and I was going to be his. And while I wasn’t sure how difficult the journey was going to be, I was going to take it.”

‘Would I ever feel un-wrecked?’ Daughter’s realization about her ‘know-it-all’ younger self after dad’s death
“Losing a parent young was like being pummeled by a tidal wave. I didn’t know who I was becoming and often wished I could just take. it. all. back.”