Respect

Having to pick just one person to respect in my life is hard. There are many different family members and friends in my life that I look at with a respect and admiration. However, if you look at who has influenced me the most in my life, I would not hesitate to say that it would be my grandmother. She has always been there for me and that has always meant a lot to me because I knew that if i ever had a problem, she was the one person I could always go to. She was a Special Needs teacher at a local college in my home town for many years and I would spend summer afternoons in her office watching her work and making friends with some of her students. By doing this and getting to know these people, I learned social skills many kids my age didn't know. I also learned communication skills, and that you really cant judge a book by its cover. Growing up, I learned so many lessons from my grandma. She was someone I could always talk to when something was wrong or I needed help because of a divided family. She was neutral, safe, understanding and wise. She is a mother of three and has been through enough in her time to be able to help me in any way she can, even though she had never been through what I had. Whether anyone in my family realizes it or not, she pretty much is the glue that holds us all together. I will forever look up to her and her life and I will always have the urge to help people and make a difference in as many peoples lives, because that is what she did and still does, even if she doesn't realize it.

- Erin Wood