MY MOTHER

James Van Aken                 Advanced World Literature                 October 16, 2001 College Essay 3.         Indicate a person who has had a significant influence on you and describe that influence.

Many people have influenced me in my life. My mom showed me how to be strong when there wasn’t much to hold on to. My step-father showed me that you can’t rely on other people for everything; that you have to stand on you own two feet. My brother taught me that you can not only learn from your own mistakes, but from the mistakes from others, which I did from him. The person that has had the most influence on me recent times would have to be my girlfriend, Julie Seibert.

I became friends with Julie late sophomore yeah. We talked online, being introduced to each other by a mutual friend, who happened to be her boyfriend at the time.

We actually met one day, late that fall. The more we talked, the better friends we became. She eventually got me a job where she works, a waiter in the kitchen of a senior citizen housing center.

She only worked weekends, so that was pretty much the only time I saw her, but the more I saw her, the more I liked her, and vice versa. Though our feelings for each other were kept secret for a long time, eventually our feelings overflowed and we kissed in late June. As the summer progressed, there was a bit more of that.

Near the end of summer, as school began again, her feelings for me were stronger, and though mine faltered a bit for reasons I don’t know, they came back just as strong as ever, and I finally asked her out. So far, she’s still my girlfriend.

She helped raise my...