My name is Liam, and growing up, my world was shaped by early mornings, worn work gloves, and the steady determination of my mother. After my father passed away in a workplace accident, everything changed for us overnight. My mom had been studying to become a nurse, but grief and financial reality forced her to set that dream aside. With a child to raise and bills piling up, she took the first job that would keep us afloat—working in sanitation. She never complained. She showed up before sunrise every day, believing that honest work, no matter how hard, carried dignity. What she didn’t see was how often I carried the weight of other people’s judgment in silence. Continue reading…
