My Mom is an oak tree standing strong and tall. She has gone through so much in her life and is always resilient. She has had multiple health issues, but she has never let that stop her. Her first health issue was an autoimmune disorder called Guillain-Barre, her immune system attacked her nerves and she could have become paralyzed. My Mom also had Cogans which is another autoimmune disorder that eventually made my Mom lost her hearing. The summer after fifth grade my Mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. My Mom has gone through so many health issues herself, but she’s always there for me. Her love is endless and I know she really cares about me. She always accepts me and tries hard to support me in whatever I do. My Mom has really influenced my life in a significant way. She has made me realize what true strength is and how important animals are in my life. Also, she has shown me patience and that good things will happen if I wait for them.

My Mom is incredibly strong. She shows her strength in so many different ways and controlling her fears is one of them. With all the health issues she has gone through I have never seen her panic about what is going to happen in the future. She might be nervous about a test result or a diagnosis, but she always tried to stay strong for our family. This has shown me how to have hope, but also not to worry about the future and enjoy the time we have. She also works all day, even when she was sick there was never a day off. All through chemo she never stopped working. My Mom works with dogs as her job and they really gave her the strength to never quit. Animals helped my Mom immensely through this tough journey and through this I have learned that animals can help me too.

My Mom runs a dog kennel, so I have grown up with dogs all my life. Dogs are amazing companions, and when I was little I was at home alone a lot because my Mom was working in the kennel and I wouldn’t want to go with. Instead of being all by myself, I would make a dog stay there with me. With dogs, I am never scared or lonely. Dogs will forever have a special place in my heart, even if I love cats more. Living with different kinds of animals all my life made me want to become a veterinarian. My Mom also worked at a type of vet clinic for a while and that made me even more interested. I was obsessed with being a vet as a child, I even made my playhouse into a vet clinic and would make my stuffed animals the patients. Even today being a vet is one of my more favored options for a future career. Thanks to my Mom I will forever hold a huge passion for animals. This summer she made me take horseback riding lessons and I sucked at the beginning, but I have realized that with time I will get better.  

I slowly have gotten better at riding and am very excited for the future. I probably would have quit a long time ago, if it wasn’t for my Mom helping me. My Mom has definitely made me work on my patience. My family fought a lot because my Mom had hearing problems, and couldn’t understand most of our conversations. We would tell her to forget it or just never mind. However, saying that would just make her even more frustrated or angry, so I had to learn to be patient and take my time explaining things to her. I had to learn that I can’t just dump everything onher and hope she understands. My Mom has really influenced my patience with people. She always said that she got into the dog business to be with the animals. Although the people are what she complains the most.  Just the other day she had some crazy lady come into the kennel. The lady screamed at my Mom about how she didn’t return her phone call fast enough. My Mom really had a hard time keeping her cool. This was a good learning experience for me about how to handle people even if they are not kind. After all my Mom has shown me, I am still not as patient as I could be. However, I wholeheartedly believe that as long as I look to my Mom for guidance I will be on the right path.  

Overall, the hearing loss was probably the hardest thing to go through with my Mom but it has helped me with my patience. Also, she has influenced my love for animals and my outlook on strength in my life significantly. She has never wavered when a hard task has been thrown her way, the same way an oak tree never falls in a storm. I wish to keep learning from my Mom and I hope as I grow she will forever be proud of me.