What Makes Me Who I Am

            I believe that who a person becomes is half who they really are and half who their parents are. I am the product of a middle class, hardworking man and woman. My parents are my biggest fans, but also my biggest critics. They push me to be everything I'm capable of being. My parents are the most important people in my life and I hope that when I become a parent, I will be able to do as good a job as they have done. I grew up in such a loving and caring environment. I couldn't imagine where I would be without the love and support they give me every day. I'm the baby of my family. I have two sisters and one brother. My oldest sister graduated from EIU with a Business Degree. She married right out of college and had my first nephew not long after that. Holding my nephew for the first time 6 years ago changed my entire perspective on life. Four years later she had my second nephew and he stole my heart just like his big brother did. My other sister graduated from EIU with an Elementary Education degree. When I was a freshman in high school they had my sister fill in as the math teacher for that year and I struggled with seeing her as my teacher and not as my sister. It put a lot of stress on our relationship. We couldn't be the close sisters we had always been and that was hard for me, but we learned how to deal with it. She also married right out of college and a few years later had my first niece. The second I saw that little girl my heart was hers. She has me wrapped around her little finger and she knows she can get whatever she wants. Just last month my sister gave birth to my third nephew. Who knew your heart could hold so much love for such a little person? My niece and nephews are my absolute pride and joy. They are my reason to succeed in life. I want them to be able to look up to me and to be proud of me. .
             I'm also the sister to a recovering alcoholic and drug addict brother. Addiction robbed me of a normal teenage life.