My Role Model

My Role Model

Yesterday, my friend called me and said that her husband lost his job, and she worried about their future. They have to pay a monthly mortgage for their house and car. They also need money for their daily life. If her husband’s job changed, they would be under extreme financial pressure. In 1998, the government decided to cut almost half of the employees in each of the state-owned enterprises because they found that an oversupply of laborers cause decreasing benefits, so many people lost their jobs. It happened to my role model-my mother. My mother’s job changed which also changed my life. I lived in a wealthy family before my mother lost her job, but losing job did not knock her down. Her hard working set an example for me and led me to become independent.

Before my mother lost her job, my family life was comfortable and stable. My mother was good at cooking and she usually cooked delicious food for our family. My mother did all the housework, and she always took me to the playground on the weekends. I never worried about money. My mother always bought gifts for me. When I was seven years old, my mother spent three hundreds RMB to buy a bicycle for me. It was a pink bicycle with a white basket in the front. It was also the most beautiful bicycle in my class. When I was twelve years old, I received a camera as my birthday present. My mother knew I liked taking photos. A camera was very expensive at that time. This camera has recorded many precious memories. In addition, my mother sent me to study to a better middle school which cost extra tuition. If she didn’t pay extra money, I would have gone to a public school, which is close to our house. However, she believed that education was important to me, so it was worth it.

After my mother lost her job, she went to the village to run a chicken farm, and I became an independent girl. When I was thirteen years old, I sojourned in my uncle’s family. My mother paid money to my uncle and his wife cooked for me. I washed clothes myself because there wasn't a washing machine at my uncle’s house. I helped my uncle’s wife do housework on the weekend. My uncle has three kids, so we were a big family. Even though I was not alone, I felt lonely. After I graduated from middle school, I moved back to my parents’ house because my parents’ house was close to my high school and my aunties’ daughter lived with me too. My sister is six years older than me. I took on everything in my life. I did housework, bought necessities and paid the expenses of the house. My parents gave me money, so most of the time, we ate in a restaurant or ordered takeout. I became more and more independent. When I applied for college, I chose Hebei province. The college was far from my home, and it took thirteen hours to get there. I thought I can live independently, so I want to see the outside world.

My mother’s hard work was a model for me. When I had time, I visited my parents in the countryside. They had a chicken farm with about 50,000 chickens. When I went into the chicken farm, I saw a lot of chickens and eggs. Every day, my parents woke up before dawn to feed the chickens and gather eggs. Every morning, some trucks came to my house to take away the eggs. They hired people when they were busy, but they usually did the chores themselves. My mother did all the work and my father just helped my mother. My mother is from the countryside and my father is a civil servant. He didn’t know much about chicken farming, so my mother did a really hard job. My mother always said to me “the harder you try, the more you succeed”.

My mother is the one who never give up in front of difficulty which has been a model for me. That is the reason I became an independent woman too. Thanks to my mother, she gave me a rich material life and she provided me with a good education. She always taught me that I should never give up when I am in trouble. Things may not go all right in our lives. However, the person who wins the game even when the cards are against them is the winner of life.