GALWAY–Throughout my life, I have been inspired by many. Even though I am still young, I have had one heck of a life. However, through all of the sorrow and despair, I have found that the joyful memories help me in the long run.

Many people and occurrences in my lifetime have inspired me in one way or another. For instance, my mother inspires me every single day. When I was younger, she always pushed me to do my best in whatever I put my mind to. She still pushes me to be the best “me” that I can be. My mom has inspired me to become a better person. She’s such a caring, generous, and loving person. Her actions throughout my life has inspired me to become the person who I am today. She’s not only inspired me, but she taught me many, many lessons. She taught me to forgive when someone makes a mistake (because no one is perfect), to always work to my potential, and to always be respectful. I will admit — I have my moments when I am a little disrespectful, but hey, everyone is at times, it’s just human nature. Recently, my mother was teaching me how to drive. One night, I was taking my brother to his friend’s birthday party, with my mom in the car, of course. His friend lives up in Providence, and those roads are scary when you don’t know where you’re going — especially in the dark. Before my road test, I needed fifteen hours of driving after sunset, so my mom told me to drive. I’m pretty sure that she regretted having me drive, because she was a nervous wreck that night. She wasn’t too happy with me then, but now that I look back on it, it was kind of funny. She kept yelling at me to slow down, even though I was going thirty-five miles an hour. I will never forget that night, because I was so terrified and she was so nervous that it was actually kind of funny afterwards. My mother pushed me to be the best driver that I can be. Another one of my favorite, inspirational memories with my mother was when I was in the hospital for a week in sixth grade. That January, I somehow got staph infection in my left toe joint. To make a long story short, I had to spend a week in the hospital, and go under the knife twice. Through all of the crying in the middle of the night due to the pain, the complaining, and dealing with everything that was going on, my mom kept right by my side. We watched America’s Next Top Model and Project Runway marathons, ate a ton of ice cream, and got through it all together. She held my hand every step, and having her there with me through the difficult time was such an inspiration to me, even to this day. Moments like these are ones which will stick with me forever, and inspire me to not only focus on myself, but to focus on the ones you love. I love my mother, and I am proud to call her my best friend.

My cousin, Marisa, is another inspiration of mine. Marisa has always excelled academically and is so kind to my family and me. I’m such a competitive person, so since she always did well in school, it pushed me and inspired me to do as well as her. If it wasn’t for her academic success, and my competitive side, I wouldn’t strive to do this well in school. Marisa didn’t just inspire me academically, she also inspired me on a personal level. When my mom, brother and I first moved to Galway, she used to babysit my brother and me. She always did her best to try to make us happy, and she always succeeded. We would play board games, eat mac-and-cheese, and we’d just enjoy the day. I remember playing Jumanji the board game together all of the time. I’m pretty sure that we’d play it almost every time my brother and I went over to her house. She didn’t really mind on what games we played, as long as we all were having a good time. Marisa is very kind-hearted. After my experience in the hospital, I wasn’t allowed to go back to school for awhile. Marisa offered to tutor me when she could. She was home from college and offered to help me as much as she could. Acts like that inspire me. Marisa helped me in a time of need, and I was grateful.

My little brother, Aaron, also inspires me. I will admit — at first when my parents first told me that I was going to have a little brother, I wasn’t too thrilled. I really wanted a little sister to do girly stuff with. However, even though I felt that way beforehand, I wouldn’t trade my brother for the world. My brother and I are really close. We trust each other, and we truly care about one another. However, we make fun of each other a lot, and we know how to tick the other one off. But hey, isn’t that what siblings are for? Because I am the older sibling, my brother inspires me to be a good role model. I never want to see my brother get into a harmful situation, or get into trouble. I try to help him by being the best possible big sister that I can be. I try to talk to him about things that bother him, I try to help him with his homework, and I tell him things I learned because of rough and difficult experiences of my own. I try to inspire him to be a better person. When we were younger, times were rough. Through all of the pain, I always kept my brother in mind. He was so young, and I knew he didn’t fully understand what had happened. I tried to be there for him as much as I could possibly be. I attempted to inspire him by always being there for him, even to this day, and just being that one person which he could go to for help whenever he needed it. I believe that is one of the reasons why we are so close. I just hope to inspire him, even in the slightest bit. To have him look back on moments and have them inspire him like past moments in my life has inspired me. Even though Aaron annoys me to no end, I will always love him.

Other people have inspired me as well throughout my life. My grandpa, my grandma, my dad, my aunt, some teachers and family friends, and even past occurrences have inspired me at one point or another. They all have inspired me to be the person who I am today. Even through the tough times, these people have inspired me to make life as best as you can make it. Don’t leave any room for regrets. If it wasn’t for my family and friends, I wouldn’t be who I am today, and I would be nowhere. Through the tough times, and the good times, my family and friends have stayed by my side. I am so grateful to have them be a part of my life.