The Person I Admire

I have respected many people in my fifty-six years of life, including my classmates, teachers, workmates, friends, and related family. But my father is the person who had the greatest impact on me. He inspired me to become independent and travel the world.

First, my father showed me the value of independence. He left his home in 1950 when he was 18 because he went to a technical secondary school in the north-east of China. He had worked in a factory for three years and enrolled in Northeast Normal University in 1956. He became a Russian teacher in 1960 in a college. We moved to a small South China city Yue Yang in a hot summer in 1978. He learned English very hard and became a great English teacher at Yue Yang 15th High School. I never forgot what he told me that independence was the most important thing for a girl. After I graduated from college, I was independent in economics and emotion, even though I married and had a child. I had worked in a design company for 35 years, and I retired last year and then moved to America. I got a driver’s license, got a part-time job, and studied English at school. I chose my life as my father wished.

Second, my father inspired me to travel the world. Our family traveled to a few places in China including Beijing, Wuhan, and Shanghai. I still remember that he always read the map and told me he would travel somewhere today or someday. He retired in China in 1992 when he was 60, and then he traveled around Russia. I love traveling like my father, and I have been to lots of famous places all over China. Like Xizang, Great Wall, Hainan Island, Lake Xihu, and Mt. Huangshan. I came to America with my father’s bone ash last year, and I will see the world with him.

In conclusion, as you know my father had a great impact on my life. He showed me that it’s important to be independent. Also, he encouraged me to try new things and see the world. I will miss him forever.