Kimberly P. Swafford

Everyone has a different way of describing a hero. A younger kid's hero is more than likely a fictional character, like Superman, someone who saves people from evil. An adult's hero might be someone who saved someone from a burning building. Unlike everyone else, my hero is someone who greatly influenced my life: my mom.

The family when my mom remarried.

She was born March 29, 1965, in northern Alabama, where she has spent her whole life. She graduated from high school in 1983. She attended Southeastern Junior College in 1989, getting her degree in Computer Information Science. Supporting a teenager, a younger child, and a sickly mother alone isn’t what anyone could call a piece of cake. In 1999, things started to go a bit smoother. She got remarried, and soon found a better paying and more successful job, where she has been for six years as a Program Administrator. After her mother, June, died in 2001, she stayed strong for her family’s sake. To me, my mom fits every description of a hero. She is fearless; nothing can bring her down. She applies herself to her job, and most of all, to her family. She always backs up her kids 100%. She helps them to pursue any of their dreams, from something as simple as moving out on their own, or as difficult as becoming an actor in Los Angeles.

Mom doing what she loves.

In my opinion, she is a hero simply because she does not get mad or worked up easily. I remember once she helped me to try to get into acting, because it was what I thought I would like to do. She paid twenty thousand dollars for us to go to Los Angeles for me to try it. Unfortunately, when we got back, I decided it wasn’t what I wanted to do. Most moms would immediately jump on my case, saying "I spent all that money, and you just decide you don’t want to do it anymore.” Instead, she just said, "Well, you would have never known if you would have liked it or not if you hadn’t gone.”

In conclusion, this woman is emotionally the strongest and most powerful woman I know. I have, and always will, respect her for being so loyal, trusting, and understanding.