Gratuitous Homework Post
I have to admit that when I first began writing, I had no clue what I was going to write about. I was tempted to just write an essay about the implications of the word influential and basically make your life very difficult. But then everyone came over and we began talking and I realized that there was one book that would always stand out in my mind.
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. I know it's not one of the great novels and it's never going to change the world, but it's the most vivid memory I have of my mother. I feel like I should have more of them, that I should be able to recall so much more about her. It wasn't even ten years ago that she was...that she left. And yet the greatest memory...the only true memory I have of her is this book.
I think she must have read it to me at least fifty times. Maybe more. She used to tell me that I was just like Jo. I was so confused by that. I wasn't a writer, I was a dancer. But now I realize that she wasn't saying it because I could write...she was saying it because she thought I was strong. Able to make the best out of any situation.
I don't know how right she was. I've never felt particularly strong. But she believed I was and that was all that mattered.
I will always have that memory of her...and that memory is one of the most influential things in my life.