I’ve been blessed to be surrounded by a lot of wonderful people in my life so far, all of which have their own important place in my heart. However, the most important person in my life is my mom, Jodi.

I know it may be a bit cliche to choose your mom as the most important person in your life, but mine truly is. She, along with my dad, has molded me to become the person I am today. She has taught me important life lessons not just from words but from living by example. The morals and values she has strived to place in us,((no comma needed)) can be seen in her life as well. For example, she is the most caring and loving person I know and she truly has a gift for mothering and teaching. She taught us to be kind, but also that sticking up for what you believe in is just as important. Be honest, humble, and kind.

One of the things I admire most about my mom is that she isn’t one of those moms that pushes her kids so hard they crack. I see some parents that make their children feel like the weight of the whole world is on their shoulders. “You won’t get into a good school if you don’t play all these sports and get straight A’s and are in all the organizations!” And it really hurts those kids. My mom understands that those things are good, but happiness and family are the most important. As long as we do our best, she is fully supportive of us. Because she knows at the end of the day those titles and trophies aren’t the things that make us who we really are.

What matters most to my mom is putting God first no matter what. This has rubbed off on my sisters and me. I know we all strive to be as good at it as my mom is, and I won’t speak for them, but I’m definitely not to her level yet. My mom seeks God’s wisdom before making really important decisions about money or her job, and she prays for my sisters and me every single day. She is forgiving of those who wrong her and handles it with grace. I hope to one day be able to handle things as gracefully as she does.

One of the other ways she shows God’s love is by caring for people: if you have ever met my mom, the first thing you probably noticed was her smile. She always has a smile on her face and I have never once heard her complaining to a stranger about her life. Although many of those strangers do gripe to her. I can’t count how many times people have said to me “Leah! Your mom is so nice! I bet she never ever gets mad!” She is nice, but I will admit sometimes she does get mad (I’ve had my fair share of punishments), but I love her because of it. Her love for her students is so apparent in the way they act around her. She is welcoming and warm. She makes wherever she is a home to everyone around her.

Over all, she is a wonderful woman full of faith and kindness. As I start to go through this next part of my life, going to college, finding a job, and growing into the young woman I am, I hope not only to become a woman like her, but to also be able to teach the values she has taught me to my future children as well.