Mother Teresa

Mother Teresa with baby

“The less you have, the more free you are,” This is what Mother Teresa always said. She was a woman of kindness and many talents. Most of her life was devoted to God, and to helping others, especially the poor. Never once in her lifetime did she put herself over people who needed help. She thought that God called her to help the poor. Today, we don’t find very many people like her, people who have done as much as she did for the world. We can only hope that the world might contain a generous human being like her. Teresa was once a child, and as she grew into an adult, she helped the world. She made an impact on people, including me, and traveled many places throughout her life.

Our saint, Mother Teresa, has done so much for our world today! Saint Teresa’s journey started at age 12, when she received her calling from God, to be one of the Lord's helpers. On May 24th, 1931, she officially became a nun in India. At age 18, she joined the Sisters of Letto, a group which helped out people on the streets. Most importantly, on October 7th, she started the “Missionaries of Charity,” which is still running today! In 1965, the Missionaries of Charity became a national family, and built housing across the world. Women of Missionaries of Charity have done so much to help the poor throughout the world, thanks to Mother Teresa. One of Mother Teresa's first jobs was as a teacher, at St. Mary’s High School. From 1931 to 1948, she taught many kids and teenagers at St. Mary’s. As a teacher, she did a lot for the young generation, and for the future. In my opinion, the best event of her life was when she won the Nobel Peace Prize, in 1979, for all her work for the poor of the world. This inspired many people!

Order of Mother Teresa

Agnes, Mother Teresa’s real name, lived until she was eighty-seven years old! Born in Skopje, Macedonia, on August 27th, 1910, she had a sister named Aga, and a brother named Lazar. Drana was her mother, and Kole was her father. He died when Teresa was nine years old, and Drana was left to take care of all the children. This put a financial strain on the family, and so the family opened a business, which ended up being successful! Mother Teresa traveled to Calcutta, and worked in the slums of both Ethiopia and India for her training as a nun. Teresa’s whole life was always devoted to helping the poor. That shows what a great person she was!

Since I heard about Mother Teresa, and learned about her, she’s been a role model to me, even though she’s dead. One of the main reasons that she is my role model, is because she won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979. That is a huge accomplishment; how many people can say they have won the Nobel Peace Prize? This accomplishment is pretty amazing, as well as how she devoted her life to the poor. She lived with the poor, and treated everyone equally. Today's world is not always the most fair, but Mother Teresa never changed the way she acted towards a person because of his or her race, gender, money, or lifestyle. Teresa had many goals, just like me. I think it is neat how she created a space for a hospital for the poor. Not very many people would do that. Agnes is an inspiration to me in so many ways.

A prayer by Mother Teresa

The way I think and live my life has changed so much because of Mother Teresa. Throughout her life, she helped many people without the tools and objects that we call necessities today. She helped out the poor, and hardly ever thought of her own needs. She taught me to think about myself less, and to help out others more, whether it means going to shelters, serving food, or doing community service. Helping others may take time, but if I think about all the things we do with our time today, it wouldn’t be hard to put in an hour or two for others. Teresa had many difficulties during her life, such as when her Dad died when she was just nine years old, but she still had a good attitude about life, and looked forward to the future. That is part of the reason I’m stronger in life. When I struggle, I just remember to look forward, and remember Teresa’s story! The best quality I’ve picked up from her is perseverance, because she persevered through her dad's death, and throughout her many personal sacrifices. So when I run into a hard situation, I think of all the bad things that have happened to others in life, and move on, with the hope for a new day and a better future! If I didn't know about Mother Teresa, I wouldn’t be who I am today!

“The less you have, the more free you are.” Mother Teresa's words are certainly true. If you don’t agree, then look at all she has accomplished! It would be great today if we could find someone like Mother Teresa, someone who possesses her qualities. Hopefully, we can follow in her footsteps, and think about people besides ourselves. Looking at the world today, and all the poor people in poverty, we can definitely use a role model like Saint Teresa. I hope for a brighter future, and most of all for a hero that’s one of a kind, like Mother Teresa, someone to make our world even better!