Person Who Inspired Me the Most

The person that has influenced my life also inspired me to be a better person. She motivated me to believe in myself. Mrs. Sandra B. is her name, and she has the heart of God. I was sitting with my head down at the bus station, and I hear some call my name. A familiar face, but it's been years and I can't remember her name. I was getting ready to leave Arkansas for good because I didn't have any family and I was empty. She never asked me a question. She told me to get my bags and get in the car. On the way to her house, we begin to talk and learn more about each other. It took us almost two hours to get to there, and the closer we got, I realized we were in the middle of nowhere. When we finally made it to her house, she said he husband use to have a racist side. I was afraid to go into the house, so we stayed outside in the car until our eyes were about to close. Sandra’s husband came to my window, knocking very hard. He said, “Come inside, that’s why I pay bills.” I never saw a house this big or lawn. There was even a lake in the backyard. Around 5 in the morning, she was knocking on the room door telling me to get up. She told me to follow her, so we went outside. We started her daily chores, and that included feeding the chicken, gathering the eggs. We worked at the nursing home, but we still had to feed the horses, mow the lawn, and much more. When the seasons changed, so did the yard decorations. We had decorations for each season and every holiday. We painted flower pots, made door reefs, all of the above. She told me before she had nice things she didn't have anything, her family was poor. When she was growing up they didn’t have a lot of money nor food. Her family started working her in the garden at the age of 9, by the age of 10 she was in the field doing what the men had to do. At the age of 13, she got pregnant and had to get married. She didn’t have a clue how to raise a child, feed her family, nor did she know how to be a wife. They struggled, but she had to be all she could be for her family. Back in those times, the women believed they had to do whatever the husband wanted because that was the way they were taught. The men brought home the bacon and the women took care of the house and children. She would get up at 5 a.m. every morning to cook breakfast. Have the children together by 7 a.m. The rest of the day she would do chores inside and outside the house. Everybody would return around 4 p.m. and she would have dinner done by 6 p.m. every evening. At the age of 17, she went back to college while her mom took care of her baby. She got her degree and became superintendent of all the schools. She has held her position since the age of 21, and still holds it. She worked and done most of everything that she owned. The things she made by hand, you wouldn't believe me if I told you most of everything was under a dollar. She taught me how to become a woman, a believer, a fighter. Mrs. Sandra believed in me when no one else would. She also put me through college, when she found out I dropped out of school. I graduated from college with an associated degree in applied health science. Sandra started getting sick, but she had a good way of hiding it. She still gets out in the heat and does the same things she taught me while living with her. The things she started doing when she was younger are still embedded in her today. Watching her made me want to be somebody; it made me want to go somewhere. So I woke up and paid attention. She motivated me to become a nurse because I want to be able to take care of. Like she does and has done for me. Sandra is a strong, independent, brave and courageous woman. I became the woman I am today because she believed in me. She taught me to believe in myself even if things get hard, stay focused, get a degree and work hard for everything you want and need in life.