My name is Chayne Wolfe and my hero is my mother. She is my hero for multiple reasons, but what I admire most is her drive to be successful in everything she does. She knows she can not be perfect, but she is always trying to be better. I admire that regardless of what is going on, she never lets her family doubt that she loves them. She is always willing and patient to sit and listen to her six kids, regardless of what they have to say.

Her every undertaking is done to the best of her ability, even when it is already “good enough.” With any classes she takes, whether it is for counseling or for her teaching credential, she strives for nothing less then an “A” and constantly reminds us that getting an “A” is almost always a matter of effort and not some natural intelligence over which a person has no control. I can look up to her as an example for everything and whenever I go to her for help she always says “Chayne you don’t have to be the best, you just have to be your best,” I keep those words in my head for whenever I am having trouble in school or if I am doubting my abilities in dance.

Aside from her hard work and striving for excellence in everything she does, she is an awesome mother- and not just to her own kids but to anyone who needs the extra support.  That is how I ended up with five siblings instead of just three. She was told about two kids who needed a home and lo’ and behold, I had another sister and brother. What I admired about her most in this situation though was that she came to each of us kids individually and asked for our approval. She said that if anyone wanted to vote “no,” she would say it was her decision and no one would ever know that it was one of us kids.

It makes me feel good to know that she is always watching out for us, and I am beginning to realize that lots of times, we do not even know it. Whether it is our diet and her obsession with eating healthy or people messing with kids, my mom there. She is also smart enough to know that there are always two sides to every story, but has no tolerance for adults who are disrespectful to kids, whether they are hers or not. She is the first to stand up for what is right. She always says that as an adult, it is her job to make every child feel like she loves them…even if she does not. One day, my mom was very sick, but when another mom at dance physically disciplined another child, she showed up in her pajamas, looking as sick as I am sure she felt and clarified the role of adults and what constituted acceptable “adult” behavior. I was so proud of my mom that night. She does not just talk a good game, she plays one.

My mom is also my truest friend and best teacher. Whenever we go somewhere together and meet someone new, we almost always hear something like, “I can defiantly tell she is your daughter!” I always act like I am offended, but the truth is, I think it is a huge compliment. We both have bubbly personalities and are the type of people you can be yourself with. We both love fine arts and attend lots of shows together.

I love to dance and spend a lot of my time trying to develop that talent. She has always been my biggest fan and even gave up music lessons and her membership to the YMCA so I could take the classes I needed to grow as a dancer. I always know she will be in the audience cheering me on and thinking that I am the most amazing dancer in the world- even though I really, really am not.

Another thing I have learned/am learning from my mother, is service. She has a lot of compassion for others and just loves to help. She sometimes has to force us kids, and even my dad, to go with her, but we are always glad she does and are starting to understand what it takes to have a truly happy life.

One of the most helpful qualities that I have learned from my mom is that we do not let what others say about us affect us in a negative manner.  Criticism is something we both accept from others. We graciously take what they say that could help us and use it and ignore the criticism that is just mean and spiteful.  This helps me a lot in dance competitions where it can be easy to take criticism personally and get discouraged.

I want to be more like my hero.  She inspires me get better grades and to work hard for what I want. I am learning the value of being organized to be both involved and successful. When I am very stressed about life, my mom can help me set priorities and get organized. I am continually amazed at how she gets so much done, and done well. Classes, work, family and volunteering…I just do not know how she does it!

I continue to learn from my mom everyday. I watch how she handles crises- and with six kids and a husband in the military, they happen A LOT! I go to her for advice and love how when she is wrong, she admits it, apologizes, works to change and moves on. She is everything I want to be, and maybe one day, with a lot of luck and even more hard work, my kids will be able to say the same thing about me.

This essay was submitted Chayne Wolfe for the December 2010 – HowToSaveMoney.com Scholarship. See and vote on your favorite essays here.  More about Chayne: “I am a sophomore with college aspirations. That gives me about two and a half years before I have to make my first college tuition payment. My parents have promised to pay for room and board (same things they pay for now), but not tuition and books. They are big on hard work providing us opportunities to go to school (besides having six kids), and I thought (as did my mom) that this would be a good opportunity to earn some money for college.”