At 21 years of age, I am finally starting to realize that my mom is right 100% of the time. It is hard to admit sometimes, but looking back at my life, there is no denying it.

If anyone knows me and my mother, you know there is no denying the relationship. We make the same facial expressions, we talk the same, we have the same laugh. If you compare pictures of us at younger ages, I am the spitting image of her. "You look just like your mama" is all I hear when I'm in my hometown.

But being so similar isn't always easy. Sometimes we butt heads and disagree on things. I can be hardheaded and stubborn and unwilling to admit when she's right and I'm wrong. But she loves me and accepts that about me anyway, and for that, I am forever grateful for her.

On even the smallest of things, my mom has been right the majority of the time. If she would tell me to bring a jacket anywhere, I would be reluctant and not want to have to carry it around everywhere. But she was right, I got cold sitting in that movie theater. If she would tell me not to buy something because I don't need it and won't use it, I would buy it anyway because I wanted it. But she was right, it ended up just sitting in my closet. The list could go on, but I'm telling you now that she has always been right.

On the more personal topics in my life, her advice has been life-saving. My mom has a special mama power where she can meet someone once and be able to tell me if they are a genuine friend, or if I should keep my distance from them. It's crazy to me that after one first impression she could know, but she has never once been wrong about that. It has saved me a lot of heartache and trouble throughout my high school and college years.

Of all the things she has ever been right about, the most important has been the need to keep God in my heart and let His plan play out for me. I have grown up in church all my life and I think it has made all the difference in how I turned out as an adult. She also taught me that prayer can give you peace during the most trying times, and I can say by experience that it is so true.

The older I get, the more I really try (and struggle) to listen to what my mom tells me. It's becoming more real to me that I should not take her for granted because she won't always be a phone call or a short drive away. But I know that she would never steer me wrong, and that's what is most important for me to remember.