Inspiration of My Mom

Shellie Sharpe

SPC 205

Professor Bennett

        Sometimes a person may feel that they have no purpose in life. Finding out who you are, just takes the time of sitting down and thinking of the importance of your life, and I am the only one who can truly define who I am

        I could stand here and tell you that my life has been perfect and that I’ve always made the right choices, but that wouldn’t be honest. I’ve been through trials and tribulations just like the next person, made it through some and got buried by others. My first real tribulation came in the years of 2001 and 2002. These are the years I always tell people that I lost half of myself. The year of 2001, we found out that my mom had stage 4 small cell lung cancer, and only a year later, she passed away. Luckily, I had time to thank her for sharing with me the qualities that made her special, because her character was the basis on which my own character is built. But to understand this bond, you must be a daughter, but to feel it, you must hear my story.

        I can still hear my mom telling me the story of how I came about. You see, I have three older brothers, I’m the only girl and the baby. All I’ve ever heard is how much my mom wanted me. After having my three brothers, she also had a miscarriage and another baby girl, that she named Sherri Denise, that died shortly after giving birth to her. The doctors told my mom that they were sorry, but she couldn’t risk getting pregnant again, that the next time, it was very possible that she wouldn’t make it through. In knowing this, of course my dad was reluctant. “You’re allowed to be reluctant,” my mom told him, “just so you know, I’ll do it, with or without you!”

        Having a girl was the most important thing to her, after having my three brothers, and as far back as I can remember, it was just me and my mom, because she divorced my dad before I was a year old. I use to joke with her and say she had it all planned. But what I remember the most, was the kind of woman she was and the kind of woman she hoped I would be.

        My mom had so many wonderful qualities that I like to think she passed on to me, but the three I am most proud of, would be her honesty, her strong-mind, and above all, her independence.

        “Always tell the truth,” my mom would tell me, “you’ll feel so much better about yourself when you do,”. So, I’m always going to tell you the truth and be honest, no matter what the consequences may be. In fact, I’ve been told many times that I am brutally honest. If you can’t tell someone the truth and you lie, that only means that you are a coward.

        Another quality my mom possessed that I like to think she passed onto me, is her fabulous strong mind. Maybe she wasn’t a doctor, lawyer, or some big-time sales executive. She was a cook in a restaurant. But she was the best damn cook there was. She use to tell me “Never let anyone tell you that you’re not good enough and be ashamed of who you are. The real shame would be you believing it.” I have come to realize that if you have a strong enough mind, you can shut out all those feelings of fear and inadequacy and focus on reaching your goals. That goal was to return to college and be the best me that I can be, because graduating college is something she wanted me to do. To be able to stand on my own two feet and be independent. That independence is the greatest gift she could’ve given me, and the reason I stand before you today. Full of unwavering determination and total confidence, that I’ll be the woman she hoped I’d be, and the woman she always was.