My Mother's Reflective Essay: Moving To America

Words cannot even begin to express the admiration and gratitude I possess towards my mother. From humble beginnings, she has completely transformed into a mentor and role model, not only for me, but also for countless people around her. In Korea, on February 15, 1973, my mom Patty was born. While she was in elementary school, her parents made the courageous and life changing decision of moving the entire family to America, hoping for a brighter future for their two children, my mom and her younger brother, Chris. I’m sure my mother had doubts and hesitance when agreeing to move to this foreign country, but how could she resist her parents’ wishes when she knew that they only wanted the best for her? Initially, their new life in America

While only in elementary school, Patty tested and was accepted into the GATE, or Gifted and Talented Education, program at her school. Unfortunately, attending this program interfered with her ability to walk Chris to school every day, and since both parents left for work before school started, Patty was the only person available to walk him to school. Now, my mom had to choose between enrolling into the GATE program or walking her little brother to school. Eventually, she came to realization that she really had no personal input in the situation; she knew that she had to continue to walk her brother to school every day. Even at such a young age, my mom had already learned selflessness, one of the most difficult attributes to

The night before she gave birth to her child, her husband was less than helpful. Once Patty realized that it was time to rush to the hospital, Steve was in the midst of taking a shower at an extremely leisurely pace. Overwhelmed with both stress and pain, Patty scolded Steve for being inconsiderate and right when he completed his shower, the both rushed into the car and started driving to the hospital. Steve, who normally drove at a quick speed, decided to drive rather slowly that day, causing Patty to become both impatient and annoyed. After what seemed like the longest 30 minutes of her life, the couple finally reached the hospital. As Patty laid down in the bed, Steve walked up to his wife and stood right by her side. Normally, this is the time where the husband gently speaks to his wife and ensures her that every thing will be okay, but in this situation, quite the opposite took place. As he stood right beside Patty, he whispered into her ear, “Your… breath stinks.” Annoyed, she ignored him and he believed that this incident would soon be forgotten. Little did he know that 15 years later, Patty would still remember and laugh about what he had said that day. From then on, Patty’s life became all the more extraordinary. Two years later, she gave birth to her second child, got a new job at the VA Hospital in Long Beach, and became a resident supervisor at her new hospital. With the money that she and