Every day, every month, every year, I come across people who shape me. We all start off as a blank canvas and to me, it seems as if I am molded, and tainted by the people around me. One of the most influential people I have ever come across happened to be closer to me than imagined, especially coming from such a different ethical background than I. 

  A person who has influenced me regardless of differences would be one of my old friends. She came to Granbury from India, hardly able to speak English. She was ostracized for being “different” or “foreign” in the way she spoke, looked, and even by her walk. Speaking Hindi, walking low, hair to her knees, she valued her family’s wishes over her own. I found it interesting that Corra took on the challenge of the modern American high school coming from such a heavily induced cultural country such as India.

  Corra and I met in junior high school. She had just moved to Granbury with her family in wanting of finding the true “American dream” through being entrepreneurs. She told me how she had travelled with her entire extended family as well, cousins, grandparents, and all, to live in a small shack-like home. This, to me, was much different than the traditional American family, besides the fact that she was the only one of her relatives whom could actually speak (for the most part,) the English language. I was also informed that her entire family was unemployed other than her father, who owned and managed a simple general store on the corner.

.   The “American dream” is not always what it seems. I, like many other people in the United States have encountered financial issues in my family, but upon meeting Corra and learning of her family’s intuitions, I was astonished. Not only was she completely satisfied with all that she had in life (which by far, was not much), but she also seemed to give what little she had to others. I believe she taught me how to enjoy the smaller things in life, and to ignore the differences we may have from other people. The clothes on your back or words from your mouth do not shape you, your willingness does. “It’s what’s inside that truly matters” we have all probably heard the saying in our lives at least a thousand times, but it is a completely valid statement.