I believe family is the ultimate gift. They are there for you on moving day, despite the fact that it is the middle of January, and we are having a random snow storm. They have seen you at your worst, and been there to get you back on your feet. They are in the front row, on your best day, cheering louder than anyone else. I believe that family has taught me more and prepared me better than any school ever has. I believe that a strong family unit is the simple answer to a lot of complicated things going on in our country. Growing up my parents were there to teach me and show me some of life’s most valuable lessons. They gave me a firm foundation of faith, and because of them I was able to learn of the love of Jesus Christ. They taught me how others should be treated, and the difference between right and wrong. It was not always an easy process, but better I learn these things when I’m a child, than when I am an adult and facing the real world. I believe the lessons we learn when we are children, will shape the lessons we learn as adults.
As a kid my sisters and brother decided it would be great fun to kidnap our little sisters prized stuffed animal, Brownie the Bear. We did a great job of sneaking in to her room while she was taking her afternoon nap, to “bearnap” Brownie. We even cut words out of magazines to leave as a ransom note. The note stated “if you ever want to see your beloved bear again you must produce $5 by dinner time. And if you tell mom you will never see Brownie again.” Naturally she woke up, read the note and went crying to our mother, where we were promptly told to go get the bear and then go to our rooms for being so cruel to our dear little sister. What we learned from this was, one, you don’t mess with the baby of the family, they will always win, and two that a criminal life was not for us. In the real world they will not be so forgiving as my mom and little sister were. I believe as a nation we need to put the emphasis back on family and understand what a significant role it plays in a persons life, both the good and bad. I believe that I was given two irreplaceable gifts. My parents, who where able to teach me valuable life lessons both as a child and an adult and my siblings, knowing they will always be there for me, means I have four lifetime friends that are irreplaceable.