Interview Essay Sample

My mom was a very independent and responsible girl growing up; which led her to be the successful women she is now. My mom has taught me many lessons in life. One of the most influential lessons my mom has taught me was to be thankful for everything I have. The reason my mom feels the need to bring this lesson upon me, is because when she was a young girl, at age 15(my age), she had to do everything for herself. She was working, balancing her education, dealing with her parents divorce, and having to maintain different bonds with friends and family. Many of her values were influenced by the area my mom was raised in and the way my mom was brought up in her childhood.
Since my mom’s parents were divorced, she learned to become responsible and independent at a very young age. The reason she had such a rough childhood growing up, is mainly because of her parent’s divorce. Growing up, my mom lived in Skokie with her mom.
Occasionally on the weekends, she would stay with her dad and her step mom in Highland
Park. Furthermore, she had to deal with her irresponsible mother, that would neglect her physically and mentally. Her mom was never an ideal parent; meaning, she never engaged and acted as a parental figure in my mom’s life. My mom would describe her as being very lazy and depressed all the time. This had a huge toll on my mom’s life, because my mom had to take responsibility to learn and teach herself many lessons that most people learn in their adulthood. As a result of the way my mom was raised, it allowed my mom to value her freedom in many different ways. Although my mom grew up in a two bedroom townhouse, in a rundown area, she managed to find different ways to pursue her life. My mom started to work at the age of 15, as a waitress. Almost everyday, my mom would walk to Baker Square, to start her shift. Following this further on in life, she took her money and bought herself her own car. Once my mom had her own car, she could have her freedom that she always wanted.
She loved the fact that she could just get out of her house, go to work, work out, and then come back home late at night. My mom loved this lifestyle in her high school years; but, she really enjoyed her college years, when she could have her own apartment. This setting really motivated my mom to become independent, and to value her freedom she would receive as she grew older.
Although my mom grew up without much support from both her parents, she really strived to receive an education to help herself for the future. As a young girl, my mom went to
Old Orchard Junior High School. And then, she attended Niles North High School. Throughout her high school education, she managed to receive A’s and B’s all four years. Growing up with parents not caring about what she did as a child, really structured my mom to push herself to do her best in schoolwork. As a gift from her parents, they would pay for whatever college she wanted to attend. My mom’s first choice was Kansas University; because, she wanted to get away from her home life, and start over in a new town. She enjoyed her first year at Kansas, but wanted to move back to Illinois. She decided that she would attend
Roosevelt University. She narrowed down to this decision because she wanted to start working and living in the city. This was a drastic change from her childhood, because she was starting to support herself and provide herself with background experience into the real world.
My mom had said, “going to college was the best decision I ever made.” This was because

her parents never supported going away to college and pushing to receive an education; but, my mom had the inner strength to accomplish this goal of hers.
Equally important to my mom receiving her education, my mom also had the support from her grandparents. Ever since my mom was a little girl, her grandparent’s treated her like she was their own daughter. My mom thought that was normal, since her parent’s neglected her throughout her childhood. Her grandparent’s would take her to Florida for summer and winter breaks. To my mom, she thought that her grandparent’s treated her better than her actual parents. She really valued the love and care her grandparent’s would give to her. Even though growing up with her parent’s was hard, she always relied on her grandparent’s. One of my mom’s dreams was for them to be at her wedding; but, her grandma passed away three days before the wedding day. This had a huge toll on my mom, considering her grandma provided her with the love that she was neglected with. So, growing up with loving grandparents, had such a positive impact on my mom’s future. In fact, she has told me many times that her grandparents are the reason that she is the amazing mom to my brother and I today. As a result of my mom’s childhood, she has become a very wise women. I think that it showed how strong of a person my mom truely is. In my opinion, growing up the way she did, not many people could overcome the neglect she received. Although my mom grew up in a horrible area with selfish parents, her values helped her shape into the independent, responsible, and caring women she is today.