What does it mean to you to give back and why is it important?

An essay written for a scholarship

My mother began working at the age of 12. Her family lived in poverty, so the kids who were able to went and got jobs to make sure they didn’t starve. Once she became 16, she left to the United States, and found herself in New York. She struggled to find work for the first months, and had to resort to sleeping on park benches. Eventually, she found a job at a factory and a home to live in.

The goal to make a better home for her mother drove her to work nonstop. Even while her body was getting hurt from the labor, she kept working. Her efforts paid off after she turn the broken-down hut into a great house. Her whole family in Peru lives comfortably today.

When her mother died from cancer, she was enjoying a great big bed. She knew that she had raised her daughter as a hard worker, and left this world proud.

After my grandmother died, my mom had me and my brother. Her love for us was so great that she continued working during her pregnancy and after it. She didn’t want us to starve or not be presentable. I am forever grateful for her.

Now it’s my time for to return all that she has given. I will get enough money to buy her a great home, and not have to worry for a mortgage. I will buy her the trampoline that she couldn’t give me when I was 8, and tell her that she finally got me it. I want to make sure that my parents don’t worry for money ever again.

It is now my turn to give back.