As most of you might already know, Mother’s Day is celebrated on various days in many parts of the world and this year it was celebrated on 31st March in the United Kingdom. However, most countries do celebrate on 13th May and this date is known as International Mother’s Day. On this occasion, we asked a few international students from the London College of Contemporary Arts (LCCA) to share their thoughts with us about motherhood and what being a mother truly means to them.
Among the students we had the chance to speak to, there is Mary from Congo, currently studying Hospitality Management at LCCA and dreaming of running her own guesthouse one day. Mother of three – respectively 12, 11 and 4 years old, Mary claimed that the most rewarding aspect about being a mother is seeing her kids perform well in school and be kind to each other. Showing a great deal of honesty, she also admitted that the most challenging aspect of motherhood is having to realise that her kids won’t stay little forever.
Yelena has been living in London since 2006 but is originally from Almaty, Kazakhstan. Currently studying Fashion and Textiles, she aspires to establish a school for unprivileged children in her home country. Mother of two boys aged 10 and 8, she thinks that the most challenging part of motherhood has to do with helping her children gain their own experiences and become more independent.
Diana is originally from Romania but she moved to London at the end of 2014. Currently studying Photography at LCCA, her biggest dream is to become as famous as her idol David LaChapelle. She is mother of a 3-year-old boy and she finds motherhood very challenging but also very rewarding. ‘The most challenging aspect is to be patient even when you can’t’ she admits. ‘But then’ she says ‘when your child says that he loves you, you know you’re doing great as a mum’. When asked where she finds the inspiration to be a good mother, she admits ‘My mum is the person who inspires me’.
Finally, we spoke to Samantha from Montserrat who’s been living in London for 22 years. Currently studying Business Management, she is also a mother of 3 children aged 12, 10 and 2. Although it is hard to combine her home life with being a student, the best part of being a mother, for Samantha, is seeing her kids happy. A mother – she says – is someone who ensure their kids are a priority and love them unconditionally. When asked who her role model is, Samantha admits that her kids and her desire to make them happy is the inspiration she needs in order to be a good mother.
To celebrate Mother’s Day, our students took part in a video to share their thoughts and feelings about the day, as a mother. Watch our video here.