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Mahsa Sheikh, Low Entropy Volunteer Writer

Writing about the people closest to you in life is not without challenges. You may forget how easy it is to highlight good qualities at the expense of closing eyes to unabashed weaknesses, be they big or small. When time comes to pay tribute, in lieu of rendering due homage, you may lamentably catch yourself fumbling words with unbidden disregard. Unadulterated objectivity is a myth few to none adhere to, but you cannot simply dismiss your first-hand experience living with someone dear and near, or inadequately label it as biased. One way to avoid such pitfalls is to dedicate yourself to writing about what you learned from them—lessons you took away on the art of living or surviving the day-to-day while battling life’s mishaps. I admit that I know no one better than my mother when it comes to the latter. 

My mother is a kind soul with quirks that have etched into my heart like nothing else. At the moment that I write these lines, a photo of her lucid and solemn face sits in the ivory white wood frame across from the corner where I am seated: her deep dark hazel eyes glimmer in the sepia photo, and her hair, soft with a glossy rich golden brown hue, is parted sideways and has fallen down on her white, slender shoulders, slightly covered in a little black dress. At first glance you can tell that she had a way with dressing up and looking gorgeous. This is true about each and every one of her photos, in youth all the way through to old age. Everyone in the family admits to her subtle beauty and admires her eye-catching elegance without second thought. I used to spend hours going through family photo albums, imagining her marching in her sports outfit with the lion and sun flag in hand at a ceremony attended by the late Shah, or reciting the Nightingale Pledge in scrubs and a nursing cap on her graduation day, or posing in her 70s high-rise flare jeans and feathered hair on a friend’s brand new motorcycle. My mother’s attitude toward fashion, which exudes timeless elegance and which I firmly believe is due to the fact that she studied and worked at a time when women’s rights and their freedom of choice were once promoted and openly exercised in Iran, helped me look at clothing and fashion as a reflection of one’s persona—not as fads that are the rage for a relatively short and brief period. Being elegant is, in my opinion, a great way to stand out and unleash confidence.

My mother’s taste in clothing and fashion also reflects her passion for cooking, gardening and home decoration. Intuitive, bold and creative in her very own special way, you would often catch her solving recurring household problems, such as repurposing an unused or broken tool around the house, turning the sun-baked, arid earth in the garden into a small, earthly paradise, or feeding a room full of unexpected guests on a weeknight after a long and tiring day at work—all with an unrivalled swiftness and ease that, to this day, strikes me as magic. Looking back, I can deeply relate with her strong and profound passion for living life to its fullest, notwithstanding the circumstances: her staunch tactics to save the day while taking things as they come has lighted my way to the present. Thanks to my mother, I have come to realize that simplicity is a superpower at the toughest and most complex moments in life. My mother has shown a remarkable ability to resolve issues—with simplicity as her ultimate modus operandi.

My mother’s lively imagination and dream-like vision does not conclude with her appeal to elegance and simplicity, as anyone raised by a Pisces woman would attest. Growing up, I witnessed my mother saving her last dime to turn her dream of transferring her primary residence to her children into reality. Her sacrifice, epitomized in her willingness to raise funds through financial resilience, is a lesson in endurance. If it wasn’t for my mother, I would have a much harder time realizing the importance of living within my means. Today, I take pride in following my mother’s footsteps in leading a frugal lifestyle, as I know that it’s the key to financial growth and stability.

My mother is a woman of taste whose resilience and courage in the face of hardships are truly unparalleled. Living with her taught me valuable lessons in simplicity, elegance and frugality.

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