ree daughters. She never accepts anything from the best from me and I do my best not to disappoint her. She instilled in me the strength to have MY OWN dreams and to never be afraid of them. Individuality emanates from my Aunt Kathy, as she has always encouraged me to break the conventional molds of femininity and go after what I desire. Aunt Barbara told me from the time I was a baby that to depend on someone means you “can’t hack it yourself.” As a Doctor in NYC, she gave me my urban independence and curiosity to gain as much experience as I can. Finally, my Aunt Tink gives me my soft and gentle side. As we are closer in age than my other aunts and I, we share a bond immeasurable by any standards. I am never afraid to cry and show my emotions with her. She embraces them, and from her I gain my security.It’s hard to imagine coming from a stronger family foundation. With the beliefs, values, and ideas the matriarchs of my family handed down to me, I was left open to new experiences and challenging the world as I crossed it along the way. As I entered the collegiate world a year ahead of my peers, I was forced to make it on my own. Everything I knew was challenged, and some of my most tightly held opinions were drastically altered. I grew from a frightened, but self-reliant, HS Senior to a goal-oriented, academically focused, young woman. I have to attribute this growth to my professors who never seemed to let me falter, who understood and recognized that failure was never an option. They saw in me that challenge was always welcomed and every conquest was a search for more knowledge. To these brilliant women I accredit my thirst for knowledge and the gratitude for appreciating it within me. Standing tall today as a woman confident in who she is and what she believes in can sometimes carry stigmas. Thankfully, from the way in which I was raised and the experiences I have encountered, I have never been forced to suc...
