Okay, so this is my college essay. I thought I would share it. Enjoy!
To even begin to tell my story, I
must tell you about my mother. She has been a solid rock for me when it felt
like the earth was collapsing beneath my feet. She is more than my mother; she
is my mentor, my role model, my conscious, and most importantly – my mom is my
best friend. Having my mom by my side makes life seem like an easy load to
carry, and I owe everything to her because she has helped mold me into the
aspiring, intelligent and independent young woman I am today.
Growing
up in my household was quite a journey. My sister is 3½ years my elder, which
turned out to be a confusing age gap. She was never quite sure whether she
should treat me as her friend and equal, or whether she should be protecting me
from everything that came my way. After years of practice, she finally settled
on a mix of the two, which has brought us very close. My mom and I also had a
few weird years where she really just couldn’t decide my maturity level, and to
deal with it, she just pretended that I was very young. Once she outgrew that
awkward phase, my mom and I became very close, too. She raised me well, and for
that I will be ever grateful to her. She gave my sister and I good morals, and
she always let us make our own mistakes which helped us to grow. She has always
worked until 5 or 6 in the evening, which doesn’t leave much family time, but
she always uses the time to her advantage. I will never forget her tucking me
into bed every night or our Saturday morning cleaning. No matter what we were
doing, she always reminded me of a purpose for the job and gave me a reason to
be thankful.
Though
these are my favorite memories, I also have ones I am not too fond of. I have
neglected to mention my father yet because he was not a very positive influence
on me. He was very argumentative and sometimes just mean. My mother spent my
whole life protecting my sister and me from him, and in the process has had to
become our mother and our father. When my dad got laid off from work in the
fall of 2009, he was never able to find another job. The fighting in our house
spiraled out of control and made all of us miserable. My dad suffered from
severe depression and abused alcohol and pain medicine. Eventually the pain
became too much for him and on May 19, 2012, my dad committed suicide. Though
none of us had a good relationship with my dad, words can’t describe the pain
you feel when someone you love does this. My life and my entire outlook on life
have changed since that moment, but my mother never let me deal with anything
on my own. My sister, my mom and I all pushed through the worst summer of our
lives together, and today we are stronger because of it. I have learned not to
take my own life or my loved ones for granted. This has given me a purpose I
never had before. I want to go to college and make something of myself and make
my family proud. Most importantly, I know that my mom will need me one day to
care for her the way that she has for me, and I want to be there for her and be
able to support her.
My mom has been there whenever I needed
her and I am eternally grateful. She has done a fantastic job playing the cards
she was dealt and for this she is my role model. No, she is not a perfect
parent because there is no such thing, but she is the closest you can come to
it. I know it sounds cliché, but I have the best mom in the world, and she
deserves nothing but the best from me.
