Have you ever heard of cold and harsh Siberia, where the bears roam freely on streets (this is not true, but a lot of people think so), where temperatures are always below zero (also not true, in the summer it gets pretty hot) and where the people were sent for not obeying the law ( it was long time ago). Well, a part of me came from that place.
Now, imagine a Western American desert, where cowboys roam freely (actually, I never saw one roaming there), where temperatures get to unbearably high levels (air conditioners help a lot) and where some of the American Pioneers were settling ( also a long time ago).
From these two opposite worlds I came. Yes, you read it right, a part of me came from Siberia, Russia, and a part of me from Utah, USA. My mom was born and raised in Siberia where she developed a strong character. My dad was born and raised in Utah, where he acquired a lot of amazing feats. I believe this mixture of genes and cultures made me a stronger athlete, a fierce competitor, and an understanding person.
I love listening to my mom’s stories about Siberia: stories about – 40-degree weather, and about Russian traditions; stories about ice statues and big Siberian forest. One of my favorites is when my mom had a bear cub as a pet (it was only for a couple of days though). I know, I just barely said that the bears do not roam on the streets in Russia, apparently, they roam inside!
She was 5 years old. She lived with her parents and her 12-year-old brother in a 1-bedroom apartment.
Can you imagine a bear in your house? I can’t! My mom experienced it!
At first it was fun for the kids, but they quickly realized it was a challenge to have a bear in a small space. Although the bear cub was still little, it had a lot of strength and as a wild creature was mildly aggressive, had claws and teeth. It had an incredible power to climb, and my mom’s and her brother’s bunk bed was perfect for it. But it wasn’t so perfect for my mom, as she had the top bunk and the cub liked to climb there while my mom was sleeping. As any kid the cub wanted to play, and the play was in a form of wrestling. He liked to chase my mom and her brothers around and scratch them.
My mom had a chance to wrestle a bear! Cool, right? It was a little bear, but still was a bear.
I think, if she was able to fight with a bear, she can fight through any hardships in life.
My mom passed that ability on to me 🙂 and now I have that power to conquer my obstacles, at least I like thinking this way 🙂
But being serious, I like the lessons my mom teaches me every day, she always tells me to push through the hardships on my way. This helps me to go through my hard speed skating training and when I study for a difficult math test.
My dad’s side of genetics gives me a good sense of feeling what other people feel and helping anyone in need any time. I always see my dad helping others, I see him thinking of others more than himself. It is an amazing quality to have. His example helps me to remember that I need to be kind.
I remember driving up in a canyon with my dad, one winter afternoon. It was snowing heavily that day. On our way up, we noticed a car that was stuck in the snow on a side of the road. My dad immediately stopped and asked the driver if he needed some help. The driver was grateful that someone stopped, and he was relieved when my dad offered his help. It happened to be that the driver never seen snow before and especially never drove in it, because he was out of town. My dad helped him to get unstuck and we went our way. I am sure the driver was very happy that someone stopped and helped him out. It is hard to know now how long he would have been there if my dad didn’t stop.
I am happy that my dad is teaching these principles to me because I strongly believe it is important to be kind and to help others.
Now you know where I came from and who is influencing my life the most. Now you can see what makes me “Me”. I am lucky one that I am learning these core principles while I am in my youth. I want to encourage you to do the same. Be brave. Be kind. Be strong. Go through the hardships! You can do it!
Because kids can do hard things!