Gabriela Judith Ortega de Rovi

“They try so much but they can’t touch my inner mystery.” –Maya Angelou, Phenomenal Woman

An ordinary person that wants to live in a way that brings emotional satisfaction to them self and everyone around them, this is who my mother at her 43 years of age believes she is. My mom is a person filled with opposites, like her very rigid mostly black personal style, and her love for Victorian fashion. Like two of her favorite places my mother likes a variety of things, like her own name my mom is eclectic.

My mom is New York. She’s a business woman that loves to wear a lot of black; even thou we live in one of the hottest countries in the world and she hates to been hot. She demands perfection at all times, in all aspects of everyday life, including fashion, because she wants to bring out he best in them. This perfection translate to her love for learning, she loves to study, so much so she has two mayors, business and law; her belief that education is the way to be free that led her to raise me the way she did. She takes no standing in religious or political affairs, which is a little strange because she is a lawyer, as these things aren’t as important as spirituality and inherit goodness. She’s a neat freak, which makes sense since my mom hates when she feels she’s not in control of the situation.

My mom is Lignano Sabiadoro. She’s a very quaint, simple person. She’s feminine, and appreciates the Victorian style as the woman’s time to shine. Even though she’s not a stay-at-home mom the most important thing in her life is her family and their happiness. She likes to bring attention to herself for being a good person and being a productive member of society, and therefore likes to reflect on the past and why things happen, in order to be a better person.

My mom in any given day will change her clothes and attitude a given number of times to fit the people around her. During the day she’s a hard working HR manager that has to deal with a number of things including a workers’ union that loves to strike, like any Panamanian union. But when she gets home, she’ll slip on her pajamas and be the most caring and loving mother in the whole entire universe.

Even though essays are meant to be forms of self expression this is not who I think my mother is, this is an interview with the women herself. To me mom, doesn’t mean woman who gave birth to you and therefore demands respect and love. But a person that earns these things by putting others before themselves, who hugs you when you scrape your knee, and who’s happy as can be for every little thing you accomplish even if it’s the silliest thing in the world. My mom is a little crazy, but a good person to the core and that’s who she is and what she means to me. The best is that all she is is only mine. Happy Mother’s Day, Mom.