<p>This essay is dedicated to my mother.</p>
<p>On the early morning hours of October 4, 2009, my mother had a hemorrhagic stroke. The worst possible actually, she was bleeding in her brain stem. It is a trying time for me and my family. And, when staring at my mother in intensive care, I realized that she is, without a doubt, the most influential person in my life. And, I believe, I have inherited three of her best qualities: perseverance, inquisitiveness, and flexibility.</p>
<p>My parents immigrated to the US over 30 years ago and they spent a lot of time apart because of my dads work abroad. So, in short, my mother raised three children on her own and ran a small home business by herself in an unfamiliar place. She faced many obstacles including language difficulties, maintaining a profitable business, long distance marriage, and discrimination where she lived. But, she persevered. She didnt let anything stand in her way, so she educated herself. She went to community college with all of her spare time to learn everything she possibly could, from English to computers to business modeling. She demonstrated to me that knowledge truly is power. If she knew the law, if she knew the ins and outs of the system, and if she built a network of people who knew more than she did, she knew she could do anything. I inherited my mothers perseverance to create the first investment club at my high school. I shared experiences and investing strategies with my club members. This experience increased my interest in the field of finance, so I went on to take courses in Business and Finance at both Cambridge University of England and San Francisco City College. I later interviewed 35 financial planners, investment bankers, and also wealth managers to strengthen my inquisitiveness in the financial world.</p>
<p>The word inquisitive- may not fully describe the curious nature of my mother. She may not always ask questions, but when she reads or sees something of interest, shell take out her notebook, write it down, and then, that very night, she will scour the house for books or search online to satisfy her curiosity. I learned from my mother that nothing is uninteresting and like my mother, I learn quietly. That is to say, I do not bombard people with questions, but, rather, I will find my own answers on the web, in books, or through observations. In the last year, I have developed a significant interest in renewable energy and the environment and along with a team member, was awarded a $5,500 grant to start-up our project called Rock the Bike. This project and grant award came as a shock to my family, because I learned so quietly! They had no idea I was somewhat of an expert on this matter. My group then used the money to buy two motorized pedal-powered bikes which generate electricity by converting pedal-power into usable energy. To bring educational awareness to our school, my group used these bikes to generate electricity to power blenders. </p>
<p>By flexibility, I dont mean her physical flexibility and I dont mean to imply that she always bends over backwards to assist others. Rather, for example, products that are flexible can endure more, last longer and more importantly, if there is force, flexible products are able to absorb and deflect the energy without harming others in the process. I believe my mothers flexible attitude has allowed her to withstand certain levels of influence, to become a quick thinker, and have an open-mind. She taught me that it is good to have plans, but it is more important to know how to react and adapt to changing environments. Whenever I coordinate projects for school, my club, and golf, I always have backup plans and I always prepare my team as well. I applied for smaller grants just in case my group did not receive the larger ones. And, I always apply this proactive thinking to my golf game, because it enhances my chance of reaching the green. This prepares me with options.
However unfortunate this stroke has been for my mother, I am confident that she will use these qualities to recover to the best she can. And, I will remain that she is the one who inspired me to accomplish everything that I have so far in my life. I know these qualities perseverance, inquisitiveness, and flexibility that I have inherited from my mother will continue to inspire me throughout my life and furthermore, I believe that I too will inspire the lives of others with these same qualities.</p>