The time spent with my mother was like a droplet falling into water. Even though the impact of her physical presence was too brief, her influence has had a lasting ripple effect that will continue to reverberate throughout my lifetime. Our time together was limited, yet her influence on my sense of self is strongly evident in aspects such as my character, values, and goals that I set for myself as a student and as a person. It is this influence that has guided me to become the person who I am today and the one that I hope to be in the future.
I was thirteen years old and had just started the seventh grade when my mother died after a three-year battle with lung cancer despite never having smoked. As a result, the majority of memories I have of her are from the time when she was fighting this disease. Even though I am devastated by the time I can no longer share with my mother, I am eternally grateful for the life lessons she gave me.
As a superintendent of a public school system, my mother placed an enormous value on education. Following her guidance, I maintain a high standard for myself in and out of the classroom. For example, excelling in school was only part of her message. In addition, volunteering and helping the community through activities such as helping paint retirement homes, maintaining a garden at the elementary school, and recycling was necessary to become a more complete individual. However, her influence on my character is much greater than my classroom performance. As a mother, she instilled qualities such as kindness, loyalty, and love and as my first mentor, she instilled in me the ideals of responsibility, industry, and dedication.
My conduct and grades in middle and high school are a reflection of the time and influence of my mother. During our time together, the example she set helped transform me into the responsible and conscientious student that I am today. Each and every day of her life, my mother epitomized a strong work ethic. My mother was so devoted to her work, she continued to serve as superintendent and carry out her responsibilities throughout her entire illness. In fact, she conducted a conference call from home on the school budget the day before she died. Not only was she able to overcome the rigor of being a superintendent of a school system while fighting cancer, but she did this all with grace and a positive attitude. From this example, I learned to balance my many responsibilities as a scholar, athlete and son. No longer did my homework after cross-country practice seem so tiring. No longer did it seem so difficult to excel in the challenging AP and honors courses that I took head-on. My mother's influence on my sense of self comes from witnessing her actions and remembering the words she gave me. I want to continue in her successful footsteps since achieving less than that would be failing to honor her legacy.
In addition to my work ethic, my mother has had a significant influence on my character. Most importantly, she taught me the value of being respectful to others and myself. With the value of respect, I am able to hear and by heard by others which allows for plans to develop and ideas to grow. From her influence, I also learned how to love. In addition to loving the family, she instilled a love for animals. At home with Ginny, Blue and Salty, I was able to gain responsibility and care for our pets which in turn lent itself to responsibility in areas outside the home. As well as love, my mother showed me the importance of living with confidence. For her, no dream was unachievable. With this outlook, I was able to think and believe that any goal or achievement was attainable for me as well. For example, every summer my family travels together to stay in a cottage on an island in Maine for a vacation. Each year, I would watch the annual five mile road race held on the island. For the first couple of years, I only watched and occasionally handed out water to passing runners but I soon grew tired of being a spectator. So at the age of eleven, I wanted to try out running this road race for myself but was I unsure of my capabilities. When my mother heard my aspirations, she chose to encourage and instill confidence in me and as a result, I ran that race. After that day, I felt confident enough to explore the world of running and become a runner. Since then, I have run in more than thirty road races, have been on the varsity cross country for my school for six straight years, and am training throughout the winter to run in the Boston Marathon this coming spring.
Even though my mother is now gone, I attribute my mother's influence on almost all my activities and actions. Without the heavy importance she put on academics, I doubt my dedication to school would be as strong as it is today. It was her strong work ethic that enabled me to accomplish all that I have achieved. It was her support that instilled confidence in my ability to become the runner I am today. It was her emphasis on a balanced lifestyle that made me realize the importance of effective management of my time. If I were to meet the version of me that never knew my mother, it would be a person I would be unable to recognize. By allowing the droplet of her influence to reverberate, I am able to continue on in life with her lessons held close to my heart.
