It may be a cliché to say that
mothers are the most influential people in one’s life; however, I believe it
has a lot of truth in it. My mom has had far beyond a positive impact on my
life. She has been a role model, and example and my encouragement at all times.
My mother has gone through a lot of
tough moments, but that has not stopped her from achieving her goals and
setting new ones. At a very young age she was sent to a boarding school because
my grandmother believed that to be the best for my mom. However, very soon they
discovered that the school fees were out of their possibilities, so my mom had
to work hard to pay for her education. That made her learn the importance of
working.
When my mother finished high
school, my grandmother persuaded my mom to go back home because they could not afford
a private university for her. Nevertheless, my mom decided to risk it and work
hard to get the education she was dreaming of. The result: she finished her
undergraduate degree with honors.
I recall being a child and seeing
my mom going through her master’s program as well as working part time and
taking care of my brother and me; all that, of course, with help from my dad.
She knew she wanted to continue with graduate education and she did it. Then it
came the time for her docotral degree. It took her a longer time due to some
health problems, but with determination and lots of prayers she finished it. I
was very proud of her, and I still am, because that was just the beginning of a
new stage in her life. She did not finish there; now she is committed to
research and continues pursuing more goals in her professional life. She has
set the goal very high herself, and that has made me think that I should not
settle for less.
Also, her determination to change
her lifestyle made a great impact on my own lifestyle. After three months of a
very aggressive health treatment to try to eradicate a stomach illness, she
decided to give a 180º shift to her life. She became vegan, started to do more
regular exercise and be more careful in her eating habits. She had already
stopped eating red meat a while before this decision, but this time was radical
and she was convinced it was the best for her health. Now, apart from not
eating meat and dairy products, she does not eat greater portions of food than
what her body requires and her meals are well balanced. These are just some
examples of what she does to take care of herself and her body.
More than the change she made on
her diet, what awes me the most is her perseverance. Ever since, she has not
given up a single time, and she encourages people to be more careful with their
bodies and their health. Without any pressure, but rather by example, she
helped me decide to do something for my own health.
Most importantly, she has
influenced the way I see things in life, especially the difficulties. She
always tells me to look at the positive side of things. That is one of her
mottos, to be positive and to always find the good side of every situation.
Whenever I feel sad, tired of trying or disappointed, she tells me to keep it
up and to be positive. That has helped me to go through a lot of troubles and
apparent failures.
So, I know there is no need to go
far back in time or far away to a foreign land in order to find one of my
heroes. She is right there, within my very own family.
This text was first written for one of my classes, but wanted to post it here.
