A tribute is a gift or other acknowledgement of gratitude, respect, or admiration. People usually write a tribute essay to a person with great importance, who has passed away. I am writing for two people who are still alive. There are many people who have influenced me throughout my life. The first people who come to mind are my parents. They have influenced me so much throughout my whole life.

My parents influence me through their aspiring personalities, morals and responsibilities. My parents both have distinct personalities. My Dad is easy going, where as my Mom is more serious. In the end, they both want the same thing for me. They want me to prosper and be the best person I can possibly be. My Dad is a tall man, but my mom is a short women. Something my parents have in common, are their brown eyes. My parents have two rules, which are not to lie and never be disrespectful. These rules taught me a lot so far in my life. For example, my parents taught me to respect my elders, such as my grandparents. My parents explain these rules every time I talk back, or I am not telling the full truth. They say “It’s that simple” and “It’s not that hard to follow.” I know these rules will be very helpful throughout my life.

My parents both have a positive influence on me. My mom is an extremely successful individual. She is an accountant for a profitable company in New York City. She works very hard and always gets the job done. At times she gets frustrated with her work, but she never gives up. I always hear the constant clicking of keys on the computer and ringing of the telephone. I think that is a symbol of hard work! She has taught me to work as hard as I can and never give up. Once, I was finishing a math fair paper that was due the next day and I found an error in one of my graphs. It was late and all I wanted to do was place my head on my pillow, but my mom told me to stay up until I got the whole thing done. In the end I finished my paper and I participated in the Long Island Math Fair Contest and received a silver medal. My mom is a strong person who always gets what she wants by working for it. She doesn’t let anything get in her way no matter what it is. She influences me in many ways. Leading up to the final days of my Bat Mitzvah she always made sure I was studying. She was the person who influenced me to keep studying harder and harder to achieve my goals. I was looking forward to making both of my parents proud that day! After my service was over my mom came up to me and said something that meant so much to me! “I am so proud of you! You did wonderful!” she said. “Thank you so much!” Just those few words made studying so hard worth it! I would like to be just as successful as her someday!

The first thing that comes to my mind when I think about my dad is that he is one of the most caring and understanding people I know. He always puts my mom, my sister and I before he even thinks about himself. I admire that so much! He has taught me to care for everyone around me. I think my dad goes beyond what the definition of caring is. People can care about many things such as ipod’s, cell phones, clothes and more of their personal belongings, but my dad cherishes every moment he spends with his family. He helps anyone in need and when it snows out, he is outside in the freezing cold air, early in the morning to make sure everyone is safe. He starts shoveling before there is too much snow and he makes sure there isn’t a lot of ice, so no one slips. I tell my dad he is such a remarkable person and he always cares about everyone constantly! He made a great decision one year to shave his head to raise money for children’s cancer research. He has been doing that every year since he found out about this charity. I remember when I was little, and still today, whenever my dad hears sirens ringing loud and clear, he follows them to make sure no one is hurt. He influences me just by what he does everyday! He started his own financial planning company, all by himself and he is doing very well! You have to be a very brave person and a risk-taker to start your own company and I admire him for making his dreams come true! From my point of view he is a great person!


My parents have a great life! They are in a great marriage and they were blessed with two wonderful children who want to be just like them someday! I would like to thank them for never giving up on me. Some parents don’t push their child to be the very best they can be, but my parents don’t stop pushing me. I am very grateful for that because it is going to get me really far in life! The influence my parents have had on me is going to last me a lifetime! Thank you so much for always being there! I love you!