The fact that my mother is my inspirational person this Sunday, on Mother’s Day, is not completely coincidental. I always knew that my mom would be featured on this series of inspirational people, I just hadn’t quite planned what I would say. I’m still not quite sure what to say, but it’s Mother’s Day and it’s only fitting that I write a little bit about the woman that has cared for me and loved me more than anyone else in the world over the past twenty-seven years.

It’s no secret that I’m a complete momma’s boy: I’ve written a whole post about that fact before. If you have ever met my mother, you would understand why: she displays the most selfless love for everyone she meets and sees beauty and goodness in the eyes of everyone she meets.

The other day, I overheard one young woman telling her friend that she felt that, as she was growing up, she was turning into her mother, and this horrified her. I was taken aback — if I were to ever grow up to be like my mother, that would be the ultimate compliment. My mother taught me how to love endlessly and selflessly. My mother has taught me to to never compromise myself and who I really am in the face of criticism and adversity. My mom is the person who reminds me how blessed I am to be alive and to be surrounded by wonderful people.

Today, I want to thank my mom, Shahsultan Vasta, for being inspirational.

My mother is the most beautiful woman in the world, inside and out. If you ever meet her, please give her a hug for me and remind her that her son — even though he may be hundreds of miles away — is thinking of her every moment of every day.

Every Sunday for the next little while, I’ll be writing one or two paragraphs about people that inspire me as a kind of thank you for making me want to do and be better. Who inspires you?