Teen Ink- short stories

family: My inspiration

   My mom has been through immense suffering, but she has preserved. My mom never had a chance to have a prestigious career, and during my childhood she always had more than one job. In fact, I almost never saw her. She would be home long enough to ask if we had behaved that day, then she would leave for another grueling shift. All the work she did, hour after hour, year after year, was to earn a few extra dollars. She could have used this money to buy things for herself, but she never did. She only bought herself the bare essentials to make sure her children had food on the table at every meal.
   My mom moved us from one of the worst neighborhoods in Los Angeles to a nice home in a nearby community. Who helped her? No one. She did it on her own. She alone made the down payment and pays the mortgage every month. My mothers education was limited; She didn't even finish grade school. In her country, where she lived until her twenties, she had to start working at a young age so her family could survive. School was not an option.
   My mom rose above poverty and made something of herself. Despite her lack of formal education, she became a successful life-insurance professional who has won many awards for her company.
   People used to say she was living off the government because she received welfare. My mother showed those critics she could better her situation. They no longer look down on her; she proved she could overcome anything. Only recently has she slowed down, but not by choice. She had many back operations that have improved her chances of living pain-free. Doctors believed she might never walk again, but just days after she was released, she was on her feet watering her garden.
   Her accomplishments are many, although not world renowned. They are amazing because she achieved them in spite of the distrust people showed her. She defied the Stereotype: People thought a single mother on welfare living in the worst part of Los Angeles could never make it out. She did. My strength comes from hers. She is my inspiration. All I want in life is to make her as proud of me as I am of her. I will always remember what she has taught me and who she is.