Essay Topic: Each of us has one person who has made a difference in our lives. For some of us, this person may be a family member; for others, a teacher; for others, a friend. Think of the one person who has been most influential in your life. Describe the influence that person had on you, and explain why you believe she/he has been so important in your life.
| Agnes |
| Chie |
| Entela |
| Quratulain |
| Raquel |
| Lina |
| Anna |
| Estella |
| Marie |
| Odriste |
Agnes Adenihun
ESL 91
Spring, 2004
Sometimes in life you meet people that could change your life around. It could be your family, friends, teachers, or your pastor. Life is full of positive and negative things. Sometime I would wake and up I would feel like my life is not going alright. When I had these feelings I was seventeen years old. I had my first son in June 1996. My life changed from a happy beautiful young girl to a sad young girl. My life was full of negative things then like smoking, dropping out of school, and I was also pregnant. My friend, Nikky is the most important person in my life, because she helped me through this tough part of my life.
It was May 1997; I met someone that
changed my life around. She also made everything easy for me. Her name is Nikky
Brown. She was from
Nikky was a young, intelligent and brilliant girl. She was so brilliant at the age of twenty that she got master degree in social work. She was so nice to me since day I met her. She helped me with everything such as financial, emotion, and spiritual. She also gave me so many advices how to become some body in my life. She was always here for my son instead of his father. She would take my son to park and some time to the movie. We both started talking and we also exchanged phone numbers. She always called me every other night to see how I was doing. We used to talk for about three good hours on the phone every other night. The first time she spoken to me on the phone I told her I wished I could kill myself.
Two weeks later, she came to my house and she saw my son, and she asked me if that was my child or my sister’s child. I told her that was my child. We both talked and talked all day. We talked about my problems and her family problems too. She asked me why I wanted to kill myself. She told me, but you have a nice paying job with a beautiful baby boy. I told her the whole story about myself, how I ended up dropping out of high school and how my family hated me for doing the things that I did. My family was very disappointed in me from that day till now.
I was sixteen when my problems started. I was in high school when I met a boy from my country. His name was Ade and we both felt in love with each other. We did every thing together all the time like school work, shopping, and would go places too. The day I found out I was pregnant; I did not tell any body. I did not want tell my parents because they would be disappointed in me. Some days later, I called my boyfriend and I told him I was pregnant. The first thing that came out of him mouth was he did not want any children now. He told me that I had to go for an abortion. I left him knowing that it is against my religion and my culture for me to have an abortion. I could not keep it to myself any more.
I called my mom and I told her I was pregnant. She was so disappointed in me and we both started crying. I begged her not to tell my father until I thought it is really to let him know about my situation. It was very hard for me to tell my father and my mother. She did not talk to me since the day I told her I was pregnant. I went to my friend’s mother’s house and I told her the whole story so that she could talk to my mom on my behalf. Some few days later, my mother came to my room and told me I must not try to go for any abortion. It was so hard for me that I had to stop going to school. I did not tell my parents I stopped school so I started working. One day I came back from work my father called me and told me one of my teachers called and told him that I was not in school for some days. The same day after dinner I could not keep the secret any more. I was sitting next to my father and I told him the whole story. He did not act very disappointed, but I could tell he was. I decided to move out of the house by myself. Since I stopped going to school I did not see my boyfriend.
Nikky felt so bad for me after hearing
the whole story and she also promised me she would hold me. One day I saw at
her by my door and she came in with some G.E.D information booklets in hand. I
told her I could not do because had to take care of my son. She told me call
the place first and make an appointment with one of the teachers. I called and
I went to the G.E.D center with my son in my hand. It was so cold outside but I
had no choice than to go. I went for the appointment and the teacher told me the
next class was going to be on Monday. I called Nikky I told her the next class
was going be on Monday. She decided take care of my son for the time I am in my
G.E.D class. I passed the test she was so happy for me. The worst day of my
life was the day she called me and told me she would be moving to
She has been so nice to me and my
son since I met her. If not for her I would not be here today. She taught me
how to be strong and how to hand problems like this. Nikky change my life and
also made to be self-confident in myself.
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Chie Mori
One of the most influential persons in my
life is my mother. She is the one who encouraged me to go to college in the
My
father at first opposed me to go to the
My mother always encourages me to do what I
want, what I choose. She never forces me to do anything. To give an example, a
lot of parents in
My mother never lies, looks down on anyone, or speaks ill of anyone. A lot of people do these things sometimes, even though they know that they are bad. But I never see her doing them. She scolds me severely for doing these things. I think I’m becoming like her little by little. I’m a kinder person than before.
My mother has never been to college, but it doesn’t mean that she’s not educated. She is intelligent. She loves reading. She knows a lot of things and always has her opinion, for example, about politics, environmental problems and so on. She taught me many things, not only educational things but also life, what kind of person I should be. I’m still learning from her. In the future, I want to encourage her to go to college, like she now does to me.
When I’m depressed, I call home. My mother always cheers me up. She listens to me and gives advice. Her advice is right for me all the time. I feel much better after talking to her. When I’m scared to go to college, she always says “Don’t be negative. Experience”. She says that experiencing is very important, even if I can’t achieve it.
My mother is the most beautiful person in the world. She has the most beautiful heart. I love her, as a mother and as a person. I want to be like her. As she says that experiencing is important, I’ll try anything. I’ll do my best.
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Entela Kokoshi
THE MOST INFLUENTIAL PERSON IN MY LIFE.
Life is not simple. It is full of
problems and surprises .Our job is to solve the problems and to understand the
surprises in that way which makes us feel better and happier. We, human beings
are predisposed to work hard throughout our lives in order to achieve our
goals. We have dreams that we want to fulfill. We have problems, which have to
be solved by us. It’s in the human nature to fight in order to win what we are
looking for. We become more motivated when we have a person next to us trying
to help us understand the meaning of life.
It was March 02-
2004 when my dream came true. That was the first day of school. At the same
time I was so happy for the person that helped me going through a lot of
things. He was my father. He is about fifty years old .He suffered a lot when
he was young. Like every person he had dreams that he wonted to accomplish. One
of my father’s dreams was a good education. At his early years of his age the
country he was living in did not give him the opportunity to go to college. The
main reason why was because the country was under communist regime. Moreover
his family was persecuted and not allowed to go to college and it was really
hard for him to admit the idea of being separated from others. But it was
harder to live in a way that he did not want to live. As the years were passing
by my country embraced the democracy. People were free. My father was happy
because what he was wishing for became a reality. In addition to that he wanted
his children to perceive a good education. He wanted us to accomplish what he
was never allowed to accomplish, which was going to college.
While
thinking of my past, I stopped for one moment at one part that has been in my
mind for so long. I remember when I was a child, I didn’t like to read books or
go to school. One night I was in my room listening music. My father knocked on
the door. I opened the door and I saw him so angry. He turned off the music and
said: “Come and sit here for one moment!” .I went there. I was so scared
because I didn’t know what that was about. He told me that listening to music
all day is not a good idea. I was trying to convince him that I liked music .He
said that you can listen the music after you finish this book .I didn’t really
wanted to read that book but I had too. I had to tell him the summary of the
book after finishing it. After one week I read the entire book. I approached my
father so happy because I finished it and I thought that I was not going to
read another one. But my father was pushing me to read books day after day even
if I didn’t like to do so. I read so many books and I really started to like
school. From that day until now I never quit reading books. Now I understand
why my father did that. First, because I started to like the school and second
because from reading the books I learned a lot of things about life and the
world.
My father also
helped me to come to the
He told me that he was going to help me with my
tuition. My duty was to study hard to get good grades. I did what he sad to me
.The last year of my high school I studied really hard .My grades were
excellent .My father was proud of me and I was proud of myself too. He decided
to meet one of the coordinators who bring students to the U.S .My father had a
hard time in those days .He prepared all my documents to come to this country.
I felt so bad because it was the first time that I had to live far away from my
family. I was only 17 years old. I had to take care of myself and work hard for
the school.
In August 2000
with my father’s help I came to
It was my father
who always stayed next to me. He supported me in everything, which contributed
in making me a better person. Because of him I am going to college. It was him
who showed me the right path to walk. I respect him and love him with all my
heart. I thank my father for all he did for me.
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Quratulain Khawaja
ESL 91
Spring, 2004
For
each of us there is one person who has been made difference in our lives. A family member, a friend or a teacher can
make the difference. Sometimes these changes become part of our lives and are
not easy to forget. The person who has
been influential in my life is my high school teacher. Ms. Polin a very helpful and generous person
who did a big favor in my life. She
helped me in my difficult time. She prepared me for my English Regents
exam. She influenced my life in a
positive way.
One
day after class was finished I spoke to Ms. Polin about getting low grades on
my exam. I told her that I didn’t pass
this Regents for the second time and I was unaware of the cause. I asked her if she could help me in her free
time. Ms. Polin agreed to help me in her
free time every Wednesday and Friday. She told me to buy Barron’s Regents
preparation book. When I bought the book,
she used to give me assignments and multiple-choice questions based on the
reading. I used to do them as my
homework and at our next meeting she used to check my work. She also had previous old Regents exams from
which I used to do questions and essays based on the writing prompts. Ms. Polin taught me how each section of test
worked and what were the grading criteria.
She told me to memorize the key terms that would help me with my
informative and persuasive essays. I
used to practice essays at home until I felt that I was fully prepared. My parents and friends were also concerned
that I was having problems passing my exam.
I had moral and emotional support from both my parents and friends. Ms. Polin didn’t just help me; she encouraged
me to think positively.
I realized that I had taken this exam twice before and
wasn’t able to pass it due to test anxiety.
I always used to have negative feelings that I would not pass my exam
and wouldn’t be graduating with my classmates.
To prevent anxiety I learned to relax during my exam. During this time I was very depressed and
thought nothing would work for me. Ms.
Polin really influenced me by encouraging me to think confidently. She gave me
strength to think that I could really do well if I worked hard. Nothing is impossible in life; if you work
hard you can make it possible.
When
I was fully prepared I took the exam in January 2003. The test was fair and I did well on it. While taking the test I remembered my
parent’s and Ms. Polin’s words. My
parents told me not to be anxious during the exam; everything will be
okay. Ms. Polin said Qurat “I hope for
your best and I know you will do it”. My
hard work and Ms. Polin’s help led me do it. Everyone was really happy, my parents, my
friends and especially my teacher.
I
am still carrying those memories and words along with me when I am about to
take a test. I know I need to believe in
myself, trust my abilities and work hard.
She has changed my way of thinking when it comes to challenges.
For
each of us there is one person who has made difference in our lives; my life
was influenced by my teacher. Ms. Polin
will always be remembered no matter what I become in future. From this experience I have learned that a
teacher like Ms. Polin is always willing to help their students if they ask for
it. This experience suggests helping
others in their hard times. I have also
learned to have confidence in myself and realize if I put my mind into
something I can do anything.
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Raquel Crespo
I was the kind of child that always struggled in school. I was very
withdrawn and never showed much interest in school. I never wanted to be in
class. At times I wanted to drop out of school. I always felt very stupid
and not important. Until I met a teacher named Mrs. Karaghiozakis at Fort Hamilton high
school.
Mrs. Karaghiozakis is a teacher that was the most influential person in my life.
I really admire her because she always encouraged me to go to class and treat
other teachers and students with respect. She also kept me out of trouble. If I
ever needed any extra help in homework; she was there, it didn’t matter which
subject it was. She always told me that people are never stupid; they might need
more help , or take a little longer than others to learn something, but they are
never stupid.
There
was another time I didn’t want to take my science RCT, the last one of six tests to get my diploma. I don’t know what happened to me that day,
I was determined not to take that test, but the talk and comfort and
encouragement that she gave me made me believe that I could pass the test and
nothing could stop me from passing it, so I took it and I passed
it.
Mrs.
Karaghiozakis is easy to talk to , I could just tell her anything because she’s very honest and talks to me openly about anything in life.
She was always ready to listen to me when I was feeling down. With her comfort
and warm words I always felt better and important. When I needed some advice,
she was there for me. She is my friend, my angel and mentor. Mrs. Karaghiozakis
has a great passion and love to teach children. She has so much patience to sit
down with them and explain the work to them. She never makes the school work
boring; she always made it fun and exciting and easier to learn. She always did
it with a smile on her face.
I
hope one day I could feel that same passion, care and love that she has of teaching and helping children like the way she help me. She completely
changed my life around and made me a different person the one I am today.
Mrs. Karaghiozakis was the one person who influenced me the most and to whom I
am very thankful because she gave me the inspiration to become a teacher. I am
very glad that I met her and I think that without her I would never have
succeeded and got my high school diploma. I wouldn’t be where I am today, in
college, if it weren’t for her.
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Lina Luo An Influential
Person in My Life In
the present day, people are facing tremendous amount of distractions such as
violent television programs, drugs, and distractions from the opposite sex.
They accept them without any considering. They can not distinguish good from evil. To get away from these distractions, to let
them walk into their meaningful life, it is important to choose an influential
person who can prevent people from wrongdoing, and advice them about which way
can be positive or negative. And I think I am lucky because there is a person
who has deeply influenced me in the rest of my life. She was my English teacher
in my primary school. Like most students, I regarded her as a respectable
person. Her kindness made me totally transform my life and negative habits into
a positive way. In my memory, she was medium-high,
about twenty-four years old. She wore glasses. Her shoes were always brightly
polished. Tough, young and attractive in appearance, she was dignified and
enthusiastic in her teaching. She came early every Wednesday morning. She
cleaned the blackboard personally and wrote some subjects and notes on it. She
was not only a respectable teacher, but also a good adviser and friend to her
students. She had a big heart to act as students’ friend. Anytime we needed
her, she was ready to help us. As for me, I was her one of the examples to
describe how she assisted her students by her kindness. I was the only child in my family.
So everyone treated me as “a little queen” Consequently, I developed some
negative habits, which are laziness and being eager for my friends and relatives
to listen to me whether I was wrong or right. For instance, in my childhood I
liked to play with girls and boys of my age in the neighborhood. Sometimes, I
was singled out to lead my group without anyone’s permission. Mother always
said to me that I did not like to be told what to do by another person unless
she or he was stronger than I. Moreover, I was known as a lazy girl in my
community because sleeping in the bed was my favorite activity. Whenever people
called me to go outside or my housework, I would give them the same answer that
I was busy now. At the age of six, when I attended the primary school, I met my
English teacher. She was very warm and a good adviser for me. She was concerned
about my bad habits as soon as she recognized them. She reasonably guided me to
put a stop to those habits. Thus, she employed many ways such as assigning me a
number of activities and providing a chance for me to be a monitor in my class
in order to adjust them. The first step she took was to
assign me lots of exercises and push me to join some academic activities. She
said that those activities would not only change my laziness but also
beneficial for me to live a healthy life. Thus, I reluctantly accepted and
followed her direction. In the first few days, I felt it was too difficult to
fulfill. And then, I thought it did not suit me and wanted to quit. However,
after a few weeks, I began to feel comfortable and more energy than before as
my body built up. As a result, I prevented some diseases such as cold and fever
which had troubled me for a long time. So many years have passes but I have
never stopped doing those exercises that she had given to me. Now, I have a
strong body to support me to achieve my goal. The
second step she recommended was to provide a chance for me to be a monitor in
my class. Occasionally, when the teacher was tied up, I would be appointed to
lead the class to do exercises, standing on the platform and reading the text
the way a teacher would do. I still remember my first time standing on the
platform. At that time, I felt deeply deeply nervous
because I did’t know how to lead my classmates to
read and to make them listen to me. I was trembling and my mind was blank. She
comforted me as soon as she knew that. She said: “Don’t worry. Everyone will have
the same situation as you. It is not easy for everyone to deal with it. You
will be fine.” She also educated me that a leader should be known more
knowledge than for other persons. So your only work is to obtain general and
specific knowledge from all kinds of books in order to lead your classmates. I
agreed with her suggestions and then I obeyed them. The result was knowledge gave
me confidence to stand in front of my classmates again. Finally, I got applause
from my classmates. I really appreciate her encouragements because they made me
live a meaningful life. Now, I am a manager of the sales department working in
a small supermarket. Even though my team only has two people, I am sure that I
am brave enough to lead them to work because I have more knowledge to support
me. Beyond
everything that my teacher did for me, I understood that the need to follow
someone whom you judge as a standard person could be helpful. They will help us
to distinguish what is negative and positive. I have not seen my teacher for
many years after I graduated form my primary school, but her words and kindness
will have an impact on me forever.
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Anna
Shapiro It was the year 1996, when I came to this country to marry my
husband. I was a completely different person, until I met my
grandmother-in-law. Influence doesn’t always have to be positive.
Unfortunately, some people are influenced in a negative way, but not me. I would like to tell about my grandmother
in-law, who has influenced me very positively. She has many beautiful qualities
that make her influential. This woman is wise and smart, goodhearted, honest
and she is a survivor. She is 75 years old, but her mind is a lot younger. She had a very interesting and challenging life. She grew up during
World WarII. Before the War started, she finished 5th grade. However, after it began, the education system in Russia fell apart. That didn’t stop her from learning. She educated herself. Eventually she became a nurse and helped
people a lot. Then, she even went to the College Of Foreign Languages and became a very
knowledgeable and intelligent person. After she graduated, she became an
excellent English teacher. Not only was the educational
system ruined by war, the economical
system was also . After the War people lived in a very difficult situation.
There was no heat and food; people were suffering. My grandmother helped
everybody since she was a little girl. Then, after some time passed , she met
her husband, who was 10 years older.
They lived a beautiful and caring life with each other. She came
here with her husband 10 years ago. He
was a very sick person. And all these years I was witnessing love and patience
and sacrifice; sleepless nights and tremendous self-possession. When he was in
the hospital she would spend weeks near his bed. She prolonged his life as much
as she could. When he died 2 years ago, she was barely alive herself. She was
trying to get on with her life. She loved him so much. I was so close to her in
those days. Just about the same time, my first
child started meeting the world. In the days of her grief my grandmother-in-law was handling herself
very bravely. That was the time when I desperately needed help with my son,
because I could not lose my job. Grandmother knew my situation, and that was
the big reason for her to help me. So, she
started to look after my son. She loves him so much and he was her
cure. There are no words to describe my
appreciation. I would see her in the morning with a smile and, at the end of
the day, she would go home and cry all night long. For me, that’s the biggest sacrifice
that any person could ever make. That taught me how to forget about myself if
someone needs my help. My grandmother’s friendships are very strong,
because she is so caring. All people around her love her, because she is so
great. She is very forgiving person; never says anything negative about anyone.
She has taught me how to forgive
people. That is very important to treat others the way I want to be treated.
That’s why I am the kind of person that I am today. She made me a more caring,
thoughtful and forgiving friend, mother and wife . When I came here to start my
married life, I was alone. My mother was
far away from me. My grandmother-in-law gave me so much support and warmest
wishes. She is my teacher and I have her personality in life and all its situations. Because of the romance that
she and her husband lived , I am living the same life with my husband. She has influenced me in many ways. Her love for
life triggered me to make the best out of myself. For instance, knowing how hard she worked on
her education, makes me want to work hard as well. Even though I have two
children, she convinced me to go to college and make something out of
myself. Because of her educational
experience she is as smart as she is. And I would like to be very much like my
grandmother-in-law. She is a beautiful and kind individual. Her life has
influenced me dramatically. I am amazed by her power. I will never forget the
things we have shared and the things I have learned from her.
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Estella Asmal An influential person is someone that can change your life, by giving you
good advice and supporting you. They can leave lasting impressions on you. For
example my older brother Miguel has done that for me. He was always there for me
when I needed him. If it were not for him I wouldn’t have ever finished high
school and received my diploma. He is the one that gave me encouragement to move
on in my life and to go to college to be somebody. The reason I picked my brother is because he’s the only one I could count on.
He’s like a best friend that I could just tell my problems to. I can talk to him
about: school, friends, and tell him when I had problems with my mother. He
would always take the time to listen and try to solve my problems. I was never a
bright student. I always had difficulty learning. For me to learn something my
brother had to repeat it to me a couple of times and explain it to me slowly,
step by step so I could understand it. Sometimes I felt frustrated, at times I
gave up trying. Since I was too shy to ask the teachers for help, I used to make
believe that I understood the work. When I arrived home I always asked my
brother for help. He would sit down with me and have the patience to show me how
to do the work and explain it. Another example of how my brother was an important person in my life was when
I was a freshman in high school I started to hangout with the wrong crowd. It
was six of my friends and I. We used to cut school together. We used to go
everywhere. We used to go to the movies, the park, and each other’s houses. My
brother always told me to choose my friends carefully. He told me "you never
know who you are hanging out with. If you hang with the wrong crowd, you
are never going to get anywhere with them. The only thing that’s going to happen
is that you are going to drop out of school". If it weren’t for my brother
telling my mom to check up on me in school once every month to see how I was
doing, I would have dropped out of school just like my other friends and maybe I
would have taken the G.E.D or I wouldn’t be in college right now. Like any other teenager I barely listen to my mother. When my mother wouldn’t
give me permission to go out with my friends, I would argue and get mad at her
to see if she would let me go. But it was no use, she still said" NO!!" .
I still didn’t pay attention to her, I just grabbed my jacket and walked out of
my house. When I came back home I already knew what was waiting for me when I
came through the door, she used to scream at me or hit me. For me it was like it
didn't matter if I got hit or screamed at because I had fun. My mother knew how
my friends were, that’s why she wouldn’t let me go out with them. She used to
say that they were a bad influence on me.i perfer listening to my brother
then my mother because i know we wouldn't argue with each other, like me and my
mother would. He has patients to explain thing to me and make me see the way
things are and should be. When you have someone like my brother he makes you see
what’s good and bad. He’ll tell me that "you shouldn’t be like that with mom
because she’s telling you NO for your own good because she cares about you and
she doesn’t want to see you get hurt". Its Is true what my brother says because
once you get older you realize that your parents was just looking out for
you and protecting you from bad. I appreciate my brother because he was always taking care of me. He didn’t
want me to end up like my friends, working in jobs that have minimum wages for
the rest of my life or having a baby or being on the streets. He always wanted
me to go to college because he had the chance to go, but never finished because
he had a baby and had to go off to work to support the child. That’s why he
wanted me to go to school and finish. He also wants me to be the first one from
my family to finish college and be somebody in the future. My brother has made a difference in my life because he encouraged me to go to
school. He made me work very hard to achieve my goals. I am very grateful for
every thing that he has done for me.
ESL 91
Spring, 2004
ESL 91
Spring, 2004
ESL 91
Spring, 2004
ESL 91
Spring, 2004