I always struggled to find my voice in stories that were not my own. During my time at film school, screenwriting professors encouraged us to “write what we know.” Unfortunately, I never found it that easy. Now that I’m out of college, I’ve begun to reflect on the events that shaped me into the person I am today. Nothing has had a more significant impact on me than my mother and her relentless will to make the people around her feel loved and supported during the many times of strife from growing up in a blended family with step-relatives.