As I surround myself with the various college applications, one question seems to appear on every one.
Who inspires you the most?
My first thought is Batman, with that catchy jingle and amazing batmobile. However, upon further contemplation I have reached my final conclusion, my mom.
Before you call me out on how cliché my response is, take a moment to see why exactly my mom can be credited with such an honor.
Whenever I attend any event with my family, we are always regarded as the children of Shinku Sharma. The joke has become well-known. Indeed, my dad has been introducing himself as Mr. Shinku Sharma for quite some time. This is not to say that my mom is controlling and aggressive (well…not all the time, at least), but rather, she has taken pride in involving herself in various activities and events around the school. She has been involved in various organizations ever since my eldest sister came into high school in 2002.
Besides being one of the super heroes for the school, such as serving as co-president for the PTSO as well as being a co-chair for the 2011 Grad Night Committee, my mom is my own hero because of her ability to relate so well with me. As I go through the daunting process of college applications, she has been incredibly supportive.
Another reason she can be considered one of the coolest moms ever? When searching for stations on her Sirius XM radio station, she stops at Hits 1 and dances along to everyone from Usher to Ke$ha and proudly declares her favorite musician to be Lady Gaga. The best part about all of this is that she even knows the words to Poker Face, which makes singing along in the car that much more enjoyable.
In addition, my mom loves to challenge people, sometimes in all seriousness, but mostly just for fun. We once had a bet on the spelling of a certain word. Of course, knowing her use of grammar, which she still insists is spelled “grammer,” I took on this bet knowing I would prevail $20 richer. However, to my dismay, she turned out to be correct and would not let her victory go for a week. In this sense, our relationship is more than the traditional mother-daughter bond. We are also the best of friends.
With all the good, comes bad.
My mom and I don’t get along all the time. In fact, there isn’t one day when I don’t get mad at her for something, or vice versa. But eventually, we both forget what it was in the first place that was upset us, and continue with our lives—me, to senior year; her, to the impossibly tiring job of sustaining a family while making our school an decidedly better place.
Although my mom doesn’t have supernatural powers, she still saves my day all the time. This just goes to show that a hero can be anywhere, even if he or she is in the car with you, singing to the radio with your 20 bucks in her pocket.