Me, Mario and our “teachers” How many people in their lives have had someone who inspired them? I think everyone has that kind of person. In the article “Poppa and the Spruce Tree” by Mario Cuomo, the author was inspired by his father. Like Mario, I too was inspired by someone to be better. That person was my best friend. At that time, Mario Cuomo former governor of New York, had a problem with his political campaign. He was discouraged. “I was ready to quit a political campaign I was losing,” he said. He needed support at that moment and suddenly he found it in his father’s desk drawer. He turned up Poppa’s old business cards and it’s helped him to remember very clearly one episode of his life. And his father, Andrea Cuomo, taught him a lesson through it. He remembered every detail of a Spruce Tree story which happened a long time ago in his childhood. They had just moved from their old apartment to Holliswood, New York. They were so lucky because they had property around the house and trees. Especially, Mario remembered one big blue spruce tree. Right after they moved in, it stormed heavily and the beautiful tree fell. The tree crashed down and no one but his father believed that it could grow again. “Shut up, we gonna push’im up, he’s gonna grow again,” he said. Without a doubt they saved that tree, because today you may go there and see a gorgeous gigantic blue spruce tree standing and “pretending” that nothing happened with it in the past. His father solved the problem, by rescuing that “defeated” tree, even when everybody thought it was impossible. “The roots are out of the ground!” “Shut up, we gonna push’im up, hi’s gonna grow again.” After all of that reminiscences Mario couldn’t wait to get back in his political campaign, because the main point of that story was to never give up no matter what. Like Mario Cuomo, I too had a person who inspired me. That person was my girlfriend, my best friend Anna, a beautiful, young lady with brown-eyes. I know her more than 12 years and all that time she was always smiling all year around, friendly with everybody, and never depressed. She is also a very optimistic person. I think she is the most positive person I ever have known. When we met, I couldn’t decide about my future degree, whether to be a teacher or be a designer. I was faced with a dilemma. It was now September of 2000. We both enrolled at the art school. I took designer classes and she enrolled in architecture. We became very close friends. Usually after school she was working as a part-time teacher at the middle school. She taught little kids how to paint. Though it was a usual painting class, she was an unusual teacher. Since she thought that painting will be boring for them, and she wanted to keep their attention, that’s why they did everything but painting. By nature she was very creative person. She decided to teach them how to work with beads, and how to make a sculpture. She was full of bright ideas how to make kids’ lessons more interesting for them. They were making such cute little handmade things, like magnets on a fridge, beaded jewelry, and clay statues. I saw all kids’ masterpieces, because I had a chance to come to see her class once a week. And all that time I wondered about doing the same. But I truly never had any confidence in myself. I may say that all my life I thought about me that I’m A Jack of all trades but a master of none. However, she never taught me, and she never told me what to do. She just let me in her class. “Even kids could do it, why do you think you can’t?” she asked me. Suddenly I realized that she was right and I undervalued myself. As a matter of fact, she helped me more with the understanding, that I am the fulfilling person, and all I need is to believe in myself. I have to thank her. She gave me the kick. I started to make more handmade things, such as crochet, beading, etcetera, and I loved it. But unfortunately it was just a hobby for me. So she was a role model not only for me but even for my younger sister. My sister went way further. She enrolled in the art school and in four years got her diploma. After being in school, she realized that she likes to draw. And she decided to get an engineer degree at our local University. That’s how my best friend’s skills affected both of us, my sister and me just in different directions.