Most Influential Person in My Life

My father never finished school nor did he have the chance. When he was thirteen, his mother became terribly ill. She could no longer work to support the family. My father rose to the call and dropped out of junior high to support this family, so most of his other siblings could go on to finish school. Through his experience, he gained wisdom and this mighty wisdom is what he hopes will better his children’s life.

He grew up in poverty in lurid conditions. It was a time when his country was at war. People lived in the streets and starved. Vietnam’s economy was a mess and money was hard to come by. My father would shine shoes for the wealthy hoping to get some change to bring home to his ill mother. That change would put some bread and clean water on the table. He did not want his son to struggle through the same life as he did. “To not live the life he had to live” is what he said. This is why I see my father as a great and influential figure in my life. He worked remarkably hard to give me this chance in life. If not for him, I would be in Vietnam working on his mother’s farm. This is why I hold my education close to my heart. My will to succeed stems from this man.

To be successful in my family is to complete school and to one day attain a career in a field the individual enjoys. Both my father and mother were not successful individuals and that is what created their standards for their children. Growing up, lectures of being successful influenced my thoughts and disciplined me to concentrate on this goal. I have been working diligently ever since in hopes of one day achieving what they consider “successful.” Nothing has been easy and school surely has been a struggle for me yet I know all this effort will earn me a future that my parents and I can be proud of.

Life in America is drastically different than life in Vietnam. My father did not have the chance to finish school so he never had the chance to have a pleasant paying job everyone else’s parents had. Yet he got through his hard life to raise me to have to opportunities he did not have. My father was hard working, persistent, and intelligent and that is why he is an influential person I look up to.