Kia Russell

Symbolizes Pride of Navy Chiefs (http://www.navycthistory.com/images/navy_chief_navy_pride_big.jpg)

My mother, Kia Russell, is my hero. Chief Petty Officer Russell of the United States Navy is a great mother and chief. She is a true hero not because she fell in toxic waste or was born with super natural powers. Heroes don't come from comic books or television shows; true heroes are all around you.

Kia wasn't sure what to do with her life. She didn't know if she wanted to go to college or not. She realized it would cost a lot more than she expected, so she enrolled into the navy and after she gave enough time they would pay her way through college.

She stayed in the navy and ended up in amazing places but had to leave family behind. She traveled to Tokyo, Japan once or twice in her years. The navy brought her my father, Wendell Bolden. In her 6th year, in the navy, she gave me life, and as I grew she did too. She worked towards her dream by going to a school of cosmetology while working for the government. Those were the days. Mother and daughter in action, "together forever," we used to say.

Kia's not only a hero because she served 9 months in Kuwait; she is a hero because she is battling breast cancer. She works around it; she doesn't let it stop her from accomplishing her dream of having her own beauty salon. Cancer isn't stopping her, it keeping her going. She has an extreme amount of perseverance. Somehow she gets out of bed every morning at 4:30 to go to work, then takes care of her family. She's an extreme mom, in an extreme world that throws new challenges her way everyday. My mother is the definition of a hero.

A hero doesn't have to be strong and be able to fly, they have to have qualities such as perseverance, being loyal, willing, courteous and much more. Heroes don't get bitten by spiders and automatically become a hero, it takes time. Heroes let you know that they will help you all the way through the journey. Kia volunteers to help whenever she can. Kia is an amazing mother who treats her children like people not babies, but we know not to take advantage of this, so we can love her better. Many people say that moms are angels in disguise and that's exactly what Kia is, an angel in disguise.