On the way to college, my mom and I got into an argument in the car. I don't even remember what it was about. I just remember putting my earphones in, blasting my music as loud as was humanly possible, and trying to ignore her as we drove the 821 miles to Alabama. I remember resenting her as we unloaded the car and trying to brush off each question she asked me as we set up my room. I was dry-eyed as she, my brother, and my dad walked out; and, during this important moment in my life, I couldn't help but wonder all the while why it was the time to fight. We were (and still are) excellent at getting into petty, small fights and blowing them up into battles that didn't need to be fought, and I couldn't understand why they occurred.
These thoughts quickly left my mind as I began to meet people from all over. But they returned as, when most new friendships do, we began with the general facts about each other. Hometowns, majors, and, you guessed it, families. As I began to describe my mom to these people, all of my questions about her were answered. Each trait I listed sounded more and more like myself, until it really hit me: I was, and am, becoming her.
It was something I had been told before, but of course, as the fully independent person that I am, I had never chosen to believe it. I had been told I looked like her and that I had her smile and her laugh, but I ignored these statements as I focused on the differences between us instead. What I lacked to see was the fact that the list of similarities far outweighed these differences, and only grows each time I consider it again.
One of the biggest reasons this had resulted in such turmoil between us was because one of these shared traits was stubbornness. I can wholeheartedly admit that, although it is something I am working on, my narrow vision can get in the way of seeing other sides at times. Without my father there to referee at times, it was like a constant, unmonitored fight against myself. And everyone knows you can never win a fight against yourself.
But they say distance makes the heart grow fonder, and these miles have done that and more. Now, growing up a little bit in terms of maturity, I have fully embraced the path that lies before me as a prodigy of Elizabeth Turner Kuiper. Realistically, I know I am already well on my way down that path. I am a Kappa Kappa Gamma at the University of Alabama, and I see her composite pictures in my sorority house when I go upstairs. I am preparing to enter a field working with children, just as she does. We already share shoes and jewelry, and being in Alabama, I am (with some words) starting to pick up her slight southern drawl.
Although she may be stubborn, so am I, and she is hard-working, loyal, and the strongest person I know. She is kind, giving, and open to any person she meets. Her life is one I would be proud to imitate, and knowing that her traits all reside within me gives me hope that my future is bright as her mini-me and her daughter.
