"Even though we may be miles apart,
you're always in my heart,
and the idea is that you keep one
and you send the other one to your little one."
I can't sit here and say that
it was in any way easy
to be away from my daughter.
But at the same time,
it felt like it was a step forward
to getting out of where we were at.
"La Pointe! Marquez!
Thank you for your service.
I've been there. I've done it.
I know what it feels like to be away from family,
and I really do mean it from the bottom of my heart.
I appreciate your service. Okay?
Thank you, guys."
Growing up in LA was not easy.
My neighborhood was plagued by violence, drugs.
My mom was always pushing towards
getting out of the situation,
that was always the goal.
She would work long hours
and constantly tell me that this is
not what we needed to settle for.
We always needed to do better.
At the age of 18,
when I got pregnant,
for a second I was like, "This is it,
This is where my life is going to end."
I would have to put on Melissa
what was put on me.
"Hey, I'm going to work extra hours,
do everything my mom had done
in hopes that she can get us out
of the situation that we were in."
I decided this was not going to be it.
This was not going to be the end.
I was working at my mother's restaurant
and in one occasion, I had some
recruiters come in
and I was listening to the recruiters
telling these recruits how great the Navy was,
all these places they had gone,
and all the benefits,
and that right there was the trigger for me.
I left for boot camp
and ever since then,
it's been an adventure.
In the Navy Reserve, I am a Logistics Specialist.
There is a famous saying which is,
"You can not fly without supply."
I supply units with anything from
uniforms to aircraft parts.
In some cases, I've also been in charge of
providing ammunition, ordnance to different branches.
I've gone to Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Afghanistan
and I know that every single person that I've worked with,
they have become my brother, my sister.
Like with anything, when you start something new,
it's scary.
But I knew that this was for me
and this was not going to stop me from being a mother.
"The stone flew because it popped out of the ground too soon."
The Navy has various programs
that help single mothers like myself.
When I have been deployed,
there hasn't been a moment where
I didn't feel that I wasn't connected with my daughter
in some way, shape or form.
I'd read to her any book
that was available for me to read.
"His eyes widened, his jaw dropped open,
his knees grew weak and wobbly.
Suddenly it was the bully who was scared.
He began to whimper and squeal and he thought,
"They're coming to get me."
But there was no where to run.
He just stood there with his back up against his tree
with his schoolmates drew closer and closer and closer."
I know Melissa knows that I'm doing it all for her.
I'm doing it to do exactly what my mother
was trying to do with me,
to do better in life.
The Navy Reserve gave me an opportunity
to be a mother, be a sailor and have a
civilian career at the same time.
The Navy most definitely has made me a better mom.
Just seeing that drive that she has
just because she sees that mom is going places.
She tells me that
"There's no way, Mom, that I can't outdo you."
When she tells me that, it makes everything worth it.
"I grew up with an amazing mother.
She would always work so hard
to afford me nice things
and give me a good childhood.
I admire my mom so much
because of her unconditional love and patience."
I do have moments where I think
I look at my mother, I look at my daughter,
I look at myself,
and I feel like I'm living a dream
because I would have never thought
that this would be our life today.
My name is Ana Monterrosa
and I'm a Sailor in the United States Navy Reserve.