The Impact

As I have reflected on this process of who these people are and how they have impacted my life, I have realized that I look up to them each for different reasons. It is funny how life works and how people who are not blood-related to me or even live remotely close to me have impacted my life in such a way that I could have never imagined.

I think about the way Judy lives her life. She is so caring and so attentive, making sure that everything is just right. She goes about her life with a positive attitude and an unconditional amount of love and joy that she shares with everyone. I want to be like her. I want joy and love to radiate out of me onto other people so they see who I am and notice something different about me. Then I look at Charlie and the work ethic she has. Someone of her age, who works countless hours every day and dedicates so much of her time to serving others. I strive to have her work ethic and ability to do it all with such grace and humility. Those are the things that I want to embody. On the other hand, I look at Ginger, someone who cares for people in the little ways, making sure that everyone feels heard and known. She has such an eye for giving and wants others to feel her love through gifts. She and I are similar in a lot of ways, we both pay attention to the details and enjoy spending time making others feel loved through gifts. And finally, I look up to Cullen and Kia and the way they present themselves. As a young couple, they have such a good head on their shoulders and a work ethic that cannot be taught. They do it all for their family because they know how important and precious family is. I want to be like them, always making family a priority and cherishing every little moment, because life is short and you never want to take a single moment for granted.

Looking back, I can only thank God that he placed these people in my life and they have watched me grow up to who I am today. There are things in life that are just unexplainable and the reason for that is because God does it all and this is one of them. There is no other reason for how people who live on a small island out in the middle of the ocean, have come into my life and impacted me in a way that I could have never imagined.