My motivation, my inspiration, my role model

By Santiago Gómez
College of Education
Long Island University, C. W. Post
March, 2011

Although there are many people who have had an impact in my life, it would be really hard to talk about all of them at once. Therefore, if I was to point out the one person that has inspired me the most, I would say that Luis Jaramillo, who was my mothers’ boyfriend when I was six, is my primary role model. Although my mother’s relationship with Luis did not last more than four years, I think that his presence influenced me at a very critical age. Due to the fact that my father left us when I was only three, me and my siblings understood my mother’s situation and never opposed to her relationship with him.

Over time, this man became the closest thing to a paternal figure that I ever had. Not only did Luis temporarily assume the role that my biological father was not able to take but he also treated me and my sibling as if we were his own. Since he was a really smart and well educated man, he taught me the good habit of reading often, drove me to become a very inquisitive person and shaped my behavior in many other positive ways. Even though my mom’s relationship with Luis ended soon after his job forced him to travel out of the country, this man left a truly meaningful mark in my life.