An important obstacle that I overcame because of my mother was shyness. I always kept to myself and never felt the need to go out of my way to be friendly. But my mother constantly told me and pointed out that communication is key in the real world and that I had to learn to communicate with people if I wanted to succeed. She realized that in order for me to overcome my shyness, I had to start talking to people and being sociable so she introduced me to different people and I began to open up more. Eventually I was able to start high school and make life-long friends there and I owe it all to her.