15 Daughters Share The Most Enduring Life Lessons Their Mothers Ever Taught Them

1. “‘Never do anything just because others are doing it because people are idiots.’ I’m pretty sure she was smoking a Virginia Slim and watching the news when she said this. My mom is such a badass.”

—Abbey, 29

2. “The best lesson my mother taught me was that some things don’t matter. When I was six years old our house flooded completely and I was super distraught about the few things I had like stuffed animals and books, things that are easily replaced. I was crying and had been crying off and on all day. She took me aside, and I remember this in her voice, she said ‘people lose all this and more than this every day. Now stop crying.’ It’s one of those moments that’s stuck with me.”

—Jane, 23

3. “Love yourself first and everyone else second because that way you can know your love for them is real and strong.”

—Elizabeth, 25

4. “My mother gave me my lunch money in a lump amount at the beginning of every week which meant that if I spent it all at the beginning of the week on things besides food or extra food then I wouldn’t have enough for the rest of the week. It took me five days of no lunch and constant begging for more money that I started managing what she gave me. I guess this is tough love but it taught me about managing money.”

—Amber, 26

5. “You are your own responsibility. My mother allowed me to do pretty much whatever I wanted as long as it wasn’t harmful and as long as I could meet her expectations about school, etc. If I stayed up too late it was on me to get up anyway. I snuck around and got drunk with friends once/once because my mother still made me get up and go to school the next day despite my first ever hangover. I remember her saying “was it worth it?” on the way to school. This really served me well in college where all my friends would stay up too late, wait until the last minute for everything, and then wonder what happened. I had fun but I had my shit together too. Made college a much more enjoyable experience for me.”

—Hannah, 24

6. “Assume that every other driver around you is drunk and suicidal. I’ve never been in an accident and I’ve avoided at least a half dozen.”

—Rebecca, 25

7. “Be careful who you give your heart away to because it can only take so much before it won’t love the way it should anymore.”

—Brianna, 22

8. “You need to know how to change your own tire. At the time she was literally talking about changing a tire and was, in fact, jacking the car up to change a flat. What she really taught me though was that you have to be able to do things for yourself.”

—Kelsey, 28

9. “She taught me to stand up for myself when you’re right even when everyone around you is saying you should give in.”

10. “That if you settle for money or looks or comfort instead of a partner you love then you could end up paying for it for your entire life. That really stuck with me.”

—Sara, 32

11. “Don’t sleep with your boss. It’s hilarious because she told me this when I got my first real job and stupid me absolutely didn’t think this would ever be a problem. Well, guess what, my first boss tried to sleep with me the very first month of work. Thanks mom!”

—Melissa, 23

12. “To be my own person no matter what others said.”

—Stephanie, 25

13. “She taught me never to ask people if they needed help but to just help them. Asking people if they need help is asking for permission not to help because most people are too polite to admit they need assistance. I feel like I learned a ton about people just from this one bit of wisdom.”

—Anna, 24

14. “That you can reinvent yourself and that most decisions aren’t permanent. She’s never been afraid to try new things even if she doesn’t succeed the first time.”

—Jackie, 30

15. “That you should never need a man, only want one. Love out of choice instead of need is the only kind of love that lasts. Her and my Dad have been together 25 years now.”

—Laura, 20