Thuy, a.k.a. tweety bird 
My sister Thuy came from the town of Saigon, Vietnam. There's a strong smell of fish that lingers around along with continuous locals trying to persuade you into buying something off one of their carts that they push around daily. She grew up with my brother and mother taking sponge baths outside, and sleeping on a thin straw mat because they couldn't afford a house. She moved to America at the age of 13. Beside the fact that she was born into one of the weakest countries in the world, she turned out to be one of the strongest.
I can always remember seeing her as the responsible one. Although she had a kid at the age of seventeen, and made that choice to drop out of highschool, it makes me admire her even more. Of course at first glance that doesn't sound like the most "responsible" phenomenon, but we all have our mistakes, and the point is she never gave up. I specifically remember her always teaching me little things such as folding clothes, cleaning up after ourselves, and being respectful towards adults. At times she could be bossy and I thought that she was the grumpiest person alive with no sense of humor, but as I matured more it made sense that she was only trying to direct me from making the same mistakes she made. The father of the baby turned out to be a guy she liked ever since she was 15. His name is Richard, and turns out he was a drug dealer. A couple months before my sister would go into labor, he got busted and went to jail for 8 years. During that time, my sister never had a single day where she didn't think of him, but now that she had a kid, she knew she had to do everything for her kid's best interest. She visited him occasionally, mostly for her daughter though. One of those 8 years, she met another. They dated for about a year, but deep down I know that she always would be emotionally attached to Richard, and even at such a young age of 8 I could see that. During the time she spent with Dan, she realized that he wasn't the type of guy she was looking for and because of that and other ordeals, she broke up with him and continued to be single. She bought her own triplex and made an investment, while still doing the best she could for her daughter. When Richard returned from prison, he was proud of all her accomplishments and what she had done for his daughter. Again seeing him as a drug dealer at first glance doesn't seem like a great sounding guy, but from what I realized, you really do need to hear what the person has to say from their perspective. He lived in the poor villages of China, and had a heck of a time traveling to America to get away from the Communist country that China is. Richard is one of the most sincere, dedicated people I know who would do anything for his family. He always thinks of others and has a compassion to help people out. Of course he learned that drug dealing isn't the right path to take, and he learned from that as well. Him and my sister are the hardest workers of all people I can think of. Many people stereotype my family, and we learned that you just have to do what's best for you and ignore them. Many people in the world are going to judge you, weather they have a reason or not. It's up to you to be strong not only for yourself, but so you can be a role model for others around you.
My sister is one of the most independent girl, women, female I know. She thinks of her family and loved ones and how her choices may affect her future. Although she had her ups and downs, which are far more drastic than the average sister, it only made her stronger. I look highly to her for never giving up. It may seem like she got lucky with the lottery as some people would say, but she earns every cent she makes and still manages to make time for her kids without spoiling them. I hope she knows that I watch her everyday because she inspires me. I love my sister and I couldn't ask for a better one. I don't know what i'd do without her, or where I'd be. She raised me when my mom left to be Seattle because of a major accident and I've learned so much responsibility from her. Discipline, attentiveness, and promptness, and self respect. It's hard to keep up in school in the situation i'm in right now, but I just have to remember not to let my guard down and keep pushing myself because the only way to get pass everything is by continuing to keep trotting along. Don't dwell too much in what people say about you because they don't know any better obviously. People will talk about you your whole life. You can't be too trusting because they're those people who will take advantage of that and what you have. I learned that you have to open your eyes and find the people that are worth trusting, and they're those people out there. I've learned friends come and go, as well as relatives. If you hold on too much it'll just hurt you even more later on. The only person who truly knows you is yourself, so make the outcome of your decisions what you think is best for you without giving up no matter how hard it may seem.
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