Sandra Peprah
Indicate a person who has had a significant influence on you, and describe that influence.
I met my mother when I was seven. She had given birth to me in Italy and had sent me back home to a small village in Ghana to be raised by my grandmother. Growing up I did not know my mother, but I knew of her. She was the daughter my grandmother constantly talked about; the clear and very joyful voice coming from the cassette player telling my brother and I that she would come for us. She was the benefactress who sent me clothes, shoes, and the few factory manufactured toys I had to play with. She was a great presence in my life, without ever haven been present.
So imagine my surprise at seven when I came home from school to find her sitting in the courtyard with my grandmother, her luggage neatly stacked beside her. She smiled when she saw me at the door, and got up and hugged me; I didn't know who she was. My grandmother giggling like a school girl introduced the stranger as my mother; after we shook hands and exchanged some pleasantries I ran off and hid. Thinking back on it now, I know I didn't run because I was afraid, but instead I was too overwhelmed with emotions I could not fully decipher. From my hiding place I proudly peaked at my mother; her clothes were meticulous, her smile radiant; she was breathtakingly different. And ever since then captivated by that "difference" I've been unable to stop looking at my mother.
My brother and I spent that summer with her in the city, where working alongside professionals my mother oversaw the construction of her house. Having never really seen a woman hold her own among men, I was impressed by her strength. She did not sit around and profit from other people's hard work; instead she worked so hard that I'm sure that droplets of her own sweat are cemented into the bricks of her beloved house. At night when all the work had seized she sat me and my brother out on the veranda and told us stories; stories that were very different from the African folktales we were so familiar with. She told us about Jumbo the Elephant, the Three Little Pigs, Cinderella, dishwashers, computers and TVs; she had the ability to inspire ideas! She made us dream dreams that were inexistent before her arrival.
And then before I knew it I was buckled into a seat, inside one of "loud flying birds" I had often seen passing over the village. In Italy I saw the life my mother led as an immigrant. She was a house keeper living in modest accommodations, with a quiet and solitary disposition; very different from the woman I had met back in Africa. However she still managed to bring dignity to her job and lifestyle, she was a hard worker. Years later, always looking to improve our situation my mother moved us once again, this time to the United States. In the first years she worked at a fast food restaurant during the day, and went to vocational school at night. Since then my mother has successfully acquired her Nurse's Aide Certificate, and continues day in and day out to look for other ways to ameliorate our lives.
It is as a result of my mother that I've acquired many of the characteristic traits that make me the person I am today. While the experiences I have had at home and abroad have been spectacular, I have learned to truly value them by watching my mother. It is because of her passion and hard work that I am now presented with all the opportunities that I have been blessed with. Growing up watching that "difference" that I notice during our first meeting I have developed a lot of her strength. I have not only come to appreciate the value of hard work, but I have come to discover my passion for languages and cultures through our lives as immigrants. She has enriched my life through her endless sacrifices, and changed it by her fearless determination to improve our lives. Until this day she inspires me to impact people through my actions, thoughts, and "differences".
Sandra Peprah
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