My life changed when I was sixteen years old. My mother, my best friend, my biggest supporter, my everything, was taken away from me in the blink of an eye. When my mother passed, it was simply the worst tragedy that I could have ever been put through. Although this life changing event was the most difficult in my life, it has changed me as a person. My mother was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2012. I remember not understanding because I was so young. My life changed quickly. I was consumed with only half the pain that my mother was feeling. As a child, I learned how to be responsible quickly. I would help my mother every day after school. I tried not to ask her for too much because in my adolescent mind, I did not want to be a burden. Some days I wished that I could take all the pain away from her. Therefore, I matured much faster than any of my peers. I took care of everything that I could so that she did not have to worry about me. I helped her with whatever she needed help with.

On November 29th, 2017, the day that I never thought would come, did. I always knew my mother was going to pass away young, but I never wanted to accept it. She was very sick in the hospital for about two weeks prior to her death. Every morning I would visit her before school. When my mother saw me, my sister, or my brother, it was almost as if she forgot about everything else and she was happy. It was a struggle for me to see my mother so sick but even worse when she passed away. When my mother passed, I took on more responsibilities. I started to help take care of my sister while my father was working. I did even more around the house. My mother told me, “Yes it is going to be hard, but you are the strongest girl and I need you to help your father, sister, and brother”. That is exactly what kept me going when the days were so tough. She always dreamed of me going to a good college, and that has pushed me harder than ever to do the best that I can in school for her and for myself as well.

One of the happiest memories of my mother was when we went to Oak Island with Little Pink Houses of Hope. It was one of the first times since she got sick that she was genuinely happy. She seemed to forget about everything happening. I would do anything to go back and see her warm and gentle smile. Thinking about that smile keeps me going when I need her the most, and I will be forever thankful for Little Pink providing me with that memory.

Dealing with my mother’s passing is still a struggle in my life. Despite all of the struggles that I went through, I still managed to maintain a high class ranking for all of high school. It has not just been a struggle for one year of my high school career, but for my whole high school career. However, I did not let this tragedy shake me. I used it as a motivator. Life will bring great challenges, but I know now that I have the confidence to overcome anything. I have proven this to myself. I know that I am capable of doing great things in my life, and the death of my mother opened up my eyes. I know that I will do everything to achieve my goals of being great for my benefit, but also in honor of my mother. Even though I am still undecided as to what I would like to study, I know that I want to help people the same way doctors and nurses helped my mother. I know that I will find a career to fulfill my goal of making another person feel better in any way that I can. My mother motivated me to become the best person that I can and to work my hardest to become that person in my future profession. This experience has shown me that I can achieve anything and everything that I put my mind to because in reality, the death of my mother will be the most difficult time of my life.