My Second Mother

Throughout the sixteen years of my life, I have heard many stories about certain people and experiences that have changed people and their outlook on life. The people who have told these interesting and attention-grabbing stories, usually my friends and classmates, talked about how these people and experiences had a tremendous impact on them and made them more mature. The recurring theme in each story has been coming out of adolescence as a better person, either emotionally, spiritually, mentally, or some other way. This coming out of adolescence is essential in one's growth and maturity. Never in my wildest dreams did I think that I would have a story that would be comparable to one of my peer's stories. Just recently, I realized that, in fact, I would.

When I was younger, between the ages of seven and fourteen, I was an obnoxious and uncompassionate person. I have come to grips with this fact after much self-reflection. You could find no other person that was critical as I was. Whenever I saw overweight people, I would snicker and make fun of them to others. The word "fat" and other cruel references were frequently used words in my vocabulary. Now I realize how mean I was. I learned that the reason why I was so judgmental was because I was insecure with myself and put down overweight people so I would feel better about myself. Also, the way I acted was a desperate attempt to fit in with kids my age by making them laugh at the expense of others. A quick change occurred in my attitude toward others when I met a very special person.

Two years ago, my house was in the process of being built in a new eleven-home development in New York, on Long Island. Every weekend, my family and I would vis...

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...a long struggle, two months ago. My great experience with a wonderful person ended in the blink of an eye.

My growth from an immature adolescent, up until now, has been drastic. I have experienced life and learned from it. I was touched deeply, in a short amount of time, by an incredible, generous, and loving human being. She is one of the inspirations for my "right of passage" story that I continue to tell many people. She helped me to become a better person and made me realize that I needed to get past physical appearance and accept a person for who they are. I learned that what is inside of a person is the only thing that counts. She became part of my family and was an excellent mentor. I owe much thanks to her for helping me to mature and treat others better. I will never forget her; she will forever be in my thoughts and prayers.