The most influential person in my life is my mother, Fatima. She is a tall, thin, beautiful woman, with milk chocolate-colored skin, big, bright brown eyes, and medium-length jet black hair. She is a responsible, dependable, and patient woman who also enjoyed life and made others laugh. She is a good mother, sister, aunt, friend and a good provider who works and learns passionately. I watched her meet life's challenges head on and overcome. For half of my life, my mother did not have someone else to share the burden of raising my brothers and sisters and me. My father killed when I was ten. Thus, the responsibility normally shared by two parents, she carried alone. Since my father's death, life has not allowed my mother to rest. Within months of my father's death, my mother decided to leave Ethiopia for United States, in escaping from political persecution, and sacrificing her life and comfort of home to seek greater education and social opportunities for her children. Life in a foreign country has not always been full of delight and opportunity. As a family, we experienced economic hardship, the language barrier, and acculturation. My mother has never given up on anything- she has pushed aside her sorrow and grief in order to raise her children. She has been a fighter, a person of endurance. Amidst of difficult odds, I knew I could always go to my mother for comfort, advice, and support. After all these years, I finally see what an amazing influence my mother has been on my life. When thinking of those who are the most influential in our lives, we often look to those that are closest to us and for me that person has been and always will be my mother.