Being raised by a single mom has impacted various aspects of my life. Since she has taken on the responsibilities of both mom and dad, she makes me and my sister feel twice as loved. One moment, she can get on to you about breaking that expensive, one-of-a-kind vase and punish you with no ice cream after supper, then next moment she can be the most compassionate and loving person just hugging on you saying that she’s glad that you’re okay. Especially that day I wrecked my mom’s truck. When I walked up the steps of our house to the front door, I knew that she was upset, however the first thing she did was give me a hug and told me she loved me and that everything would be fine because I was safe. Not only that, but she is also always super tough when it comes to school. She always checks in on me, asking how my classes are going, and always makes sure that I am making a 90 or above. Sure, it is incredibly terrifying every time I get an 89 or below, because I know that she will be upset, but as I have been getting older, I realized why she does this. She doesn't have almost unrealistic expectations for me because she doesn't want me to relax. She does this in order to push me to do the best I possibly can, because she knows that I am capable to always get 90's and above. By pushing me to do my best, she has instilled the value of always giving 110% in everything I do. I always make sure that I do my absolute best in no matter what I do, and I am very grateful that my mom has pushed me in school for all these years. By being raised by a single mom, I have realized that there are positives and negatives associated with it. In the future, I plan on helping anyone and everyone I can in my community who also comes from a single parent household, or who might be single parents themselves. I will do my best to help them out financially, or with school if they need a tutor, or anything else that they could need help with. I want to do this, because I know how tough it is to raise children on their own, because my mom has told me and my sister all about it. Even if they just need a babysitter, I will do whatever I can to help out the single parents, because they of all people need a break.