Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Alexandria Ocasio-CortezSenate Republicans signal openness to working with Biden Florida Democrat introduces bill to recognize Puerto Rico statehood referendum The Memo: 2020 is all about winning Florida MORE (D-N.Y.) posted a message days after being sworn in to the House honoring her mother and sharing stories of her upbringing.

“So many people sacrificed so much for this to happen - my mother most of all,” the new lawmaker wrote Saturday on Instagram.

Ocasio-Cortez wrote of her mother moving to the U.S. from Puerto Rico, and her parents’ start with “new languages, new life, new everything” in New York City before moving again to raise her. She wrote that when her father died, her now-single mother of two children had to start “over. & over. & over.”

The self-described democratic socialist has repeatedly made waves nationally with her calls for progressive policies and fiery responses to Republican critics.

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“It wasn’t long ago that we felt our lives were over; that there were only so many do-overs until it was just too late, or too much to take, or we were too spiritually spent,” she wrote. “I was scrubbing tables + scooping candle wax after restaurant shifts & falling asleep on the subway ride home. I once got pickpocketed, & everything I earned that day was stolen. That day I locked myself in a room and cried deep: I had nothing left to give, or to be.”

Ocasio-Cortez, who is the youngest congresswoman in U.S. history, wrote that she hopes the record “is broken again soon,” and shared Speaker Nancy Pelosi Nancy PelosiPowell warns failure to reach COVID-19 deal could 'scar and damage' economy Overnight Defense: House to vote on military justice bill spurred by Vanessa Guillén death | Biden courts veterans after Trump's military controversies Intelligence chief says Congress will get some in-person election security briefings MORE’s (D-Calif.) words to her mother as Ocasio-Cortez took the oath of office.

“As I raised my hand for the oath, my mother held the holy book & looked into [Pelosi’s] eyes,” she wrote. “Afterwards, the Speaker said to her ‘you must be so proud,’ and my mother began to cry.”

“It was not long ago that our family’s hope was so dim it was barely an ember,” she wrote. “Darkness taught me transformation cannot solely be an individual pursuit, but also a community trust. We must lean on others to strive on our own.”