The Joy Luck Club

To a girl, a relationship with her mother means everything to her. You never honestly realize how much a mother does for you, until you don't have one. A mother is the one person that can understand you, and help you through most of the terrible things in life. Someone that you can talk to about stuff that you can't talk to anyone else about. Someone that you can spend your Saturday afternoons shopping with. No one really notices how much not having a mother in your life can affect you, but I'm one of the people that do. Luckily for me, I was lucky enough to have someone who was just as responsible and loving for me as a mother would be, my grandmother.

My grandmother and I have a great relationship. We are very close to each other, and I basically think of her as my mother. She is the reason that I am the kind of person that I am today, and I'm not sure if I'd be the same kind person if I would have grown up without a mother-like figure in my life. So, I am very thankful for her, and the relationship I have with her. I can really relate to the fact that An-Mei spent most of her childhood, and how she felt about it, and it's definitely not a feeling that any child should have to feel.

Basically, at the end of the day, not having one of your actual parents is hard, but you have to be thankful for who you do have in your life, and who actually wants to be a part of your life. Take a part of your day out to recognize and appreciate those people who are there for you through the terrible things in life. Someone that you can talk to about stuff that you can't talk to anyone else about. Someone that you can spend your Saturday afternoons shopping with, because you never know when you may not have them, or they may not be there for all of that stuff anymore.