Being a teenage is a hard time, especially hen you are surrounded by 'friends' that just want to pull you down. I grew to hate myself in middle school and high school. I believed that kindness was someone trying to get their own way. I was selfish and tried to kill myself through anorexia. My mother never gave up on me. When I was at rehab she would visit me ever time there was visiting hours, no matter how inconvenient it was.. My mother had to do the same thing for my sister just three years later. My mother was dealt a terrible hand, but through all of her pain and struggle she has always helped her children and held them above herself. My mother taught me the beauty of life. she also taught me that life is a gift for those around you; there is always someone that will miss you when you are gone, do you really want to cause that person pain? This lesson has given me the strength to help pull others through the darkness, no matter how hard and painful it is to watch them struggle; my mother's struggles have given me the strength to get through my own. When I have my own children, I hope that I can give them the same amount of strength and love that my mother gave me.