The professional runner recalls the emotional moment seeing her mother in person for the first time since she first left Eritrea in 2014.
When I got to the airport in Uganda, I didn’t see my mom immediately. But she saw me from far away, and she ran to hug me. We both had happy tears. She held my hand and said, “I can’t believe this is real.”
I was just 17 at the time, but growing up in Africa, you learn to figure it out from a young age. I felt like I could make that decision by myself and handle anything that life throws at me. In Eugene, I was watching a teammate compete in the 5,000 meters and saw a family holding the Eritrean flag. I approached them, told them I wanted to stay in the U.S. and asked if they could help me. They offered to let me stay with them.
I have to thank the people that got me here. I have a lot of support from my family in Virginia, my high school coach, my college team, my agent, my pro sponsor Under Armour, and all of my friends. They helped me be the person I am today. My mom is my best friend and to go that long without seeing each other was hard. I think about her when things get hard. She taught me to be independent, work hard, and love everyone because life is short. My mom is the strongest woman that I’ve ever known. She was 15 when she got married and she had me when she was 18. Can you imagine? I don’t think I could do that. When my dad passed away in the military, she was 28. She never remarried. She wanted to do everything she could for her kids.
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