In one way or another, everyone has had at least one person who’s made a significant impact in our lives. It can be a family member, a friend, or a teacher. It doesn’t necessarily always have to do with doing better all the time, it can also be bad influence as well. I chose good influential people, which is my father, my 5th grade teacher, and my best friend Junior. Although it can be anyone, those are the three people that have influenced me to do better in my life more than anyone else has. My mother, my brother, and a few other people in my life have also made a good difference.
Even though I had plenty of other people be good influence to me, if I had to choose, I will still choose my father, my 5th grade teacher, and my best friend Junior again and again. My father immigrated to the United States from Mexico when he was only 16 years old all by himself. He started working immediately, and worked very hard. As soon as he turned 22 he bought his own house in the San Fernando Valley. He didn’t put 1,000 dollars down payment, he didn’t put 10,000 down, nor did he put 50,000 down.
He bought it all at once, he was so proud and now that he tells me about his story I am proud as well. Here is a 16 year old boy who emigrated from Mexico, and worked so hard doing construction work. In about 5 years or so he managed to buy a 4 bedroom home. I mean when I think about it, who has a home this big by the age of 22? Let alone come from another country and learn everything on his own. He did this all by himself and even though he says it was hard, he never gave up. My father is about to turn 50 years old in a few months and till this day he is a hardworking man.
He works a lot, but he still manages to communicate and spend time with his wife and children. The reason why my father is one of the most influential people in my life is because he taught me and still reminds me to never give up. No matter how far my dream is or how big it is, he says to me “keep pushing and in a matter of time you’ll get there. “ It’s great to see how much he had when he arrived to the US and how much he has at this moment. It’s not all about the money, it’s also the way he is, the way he always keeps a positive energy around me when I don’t feel motivated.
For a man that has come this far, he has always stayed humble about it and I love that about him. Another person who has been a big influence in my life is my 5th grade teacher. Her name is Ms. Hollenbach and I believe she is around her 60’s as of today. It’s been nine since I was in the 5th grade and I know I will never forget her. This teacher always went out of her way for her students. Every time we had a test she would call her students the night before reminding us to get good sleep. The day of the test she would have breakfast for us to eat and always pushed us into doing better.
I had a lot of teachers every school year but she wasn’t just a teacher. Ms. Hollenbach was like our second mother, literally. She always brought in public speakers to talk to us, always got a hold of our parents and updated them. She gave us her cell phone number and her house number just in case of an emergency. She was just amazing! She always taught us to do well, in school, in life and overall in general. After we graduated elementary, she still called us and made sure we were doing well in school.
She would take us out shopping, to the movies and to theme parks just to catch up on each other’s lives. She was a teacher, a friend, a second mother, I cannot describe the feeling she gave to some of her students. She is one of the most influential people in my life because she never stopped pushing me into doing better. She also influenced me into doing the right thing all the time. To know how much a teacher could care so much about how a student is doing in school, not only for the 5th grade but up to college makes me feel good.
She believes in her students, and no matter how much time passes by I know she will always care. The last person I chose for the 3 most influential people in my life is Junior. Junior is 20 years old and has impacted my life greatly in many ways. He is one of the most caring people I have ever met in my life. He comes off hard, but he is the total opposite. I believe I have known him since I was 8 years young. This man has been here for me through my ups and downs since I could last remember. He has showed me throughout the years what a best friend truly is.
One of the most influential things I appreciate him for is telling me the truth. When he sees me fall, he makes me pick myself up on my own so I can be strong. He has wise words that can change your whole point of view about something in a matter of seconds. He always makes me realize things that I don’t want to realize. For example, I used to work and not go to school. I used to think work was more important than school. He gave me lectures, and gave me hard times until I literally went back to school. He always makes me realize what the right thing to do is.
I thank him for giving me hard times about work because I can truly say If it wasn’t for him I would not be writing this essay right now. I now I would of eventually went back to school but not as soon as I did because of him. That is one of the reasons why Junior is one of the most influential people in my life. He makes me want to do better in school all the time. These 3 people I mentioned are my top 3 influential people in my life. All three have made a drastic difference in my life for the better, and have also made me into the person I am today.
If I did not have my father I would not have the motivation I have today to reach my goals. If I did not have my 5th grade teacher in my life I would have never known how it feels to have a teacher who cares about me so much that she still wants to know how I am doing 9 years later. She is like an angel in disguise. If Junior was not in my life, I would not attend college as soon as I did or maybe never attended at all. He saw potential in me that I didn’t see in myself. I love everyone who has influenced me in a good way and I will forever be grateful.
