ESSAY 2: DESCRIPTIVE FINAL DRAFT

"Shut up stupid!"
"No you shut up retard!!!"
This is the type of relationship I share with Portia Demetra Blanchette. And although it sounds as if we are siblings arguing about whom will say shut up first, Portia is my older cousin. We often jokingly converse this way on the phone after work, texting while after work, and even on a face to face level. However our affiliation is deeper than any sibling disagreement. This correlation is more like a 100 year old tree, still standing, because the roots are in the inmost part of the soil. Having this type of relationship with Portia causes me to call her my hero because she is a positive example, optimistic, and reliable.

If there is anything that I love about my cousin, it’s her example to those that are younger, and older. I cannot begin to fathom how much inspiration she has spilled out to me ever since I was born. I have looked up to her like a child looks at a standing adult since I was an adolescent finding my way through life. When she graduated from high school, her mother paid for her to go staight to college. Despite this, Portia became rebellious and discontinued her college classes. Because of this, her mother made her work full time while staying in her house. When she was ready to go back, she would have to pay her own way through college. This did not stop her, However. She worked in retail while taking night classes at CWU. Everything was going pretty well, until Portia went to the doctor because her hands were tingling uncontrollably. The doctor told her that she had the Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and had to have surgery on both of her wrists. She had the surgery, and after she healed, went back to work and class. While this Painful syndrome in her wrist was still there, she pushed through it until her Graduation in 2007. She recieved her Associate of Arts with an emphasis on Accounting from CWU. Portia got a good paying job with that degree, but hasnt stopped there. When her job told her that she could get a higher paying job if she went back to college, she did just that. She is currently taking night classes at CWU, working in the daytime, and tutoring. This woman that I admire has all her priorities straight. Everything about her is positive, which is why I look up to her. I can trust that Portia will always speak and act positively at all times.

"It will get better Sasha."
"It will be okay."
"Things will work out,"

Are Portias' words that have raised my hope back up when it had gone down many times in my life. I don’t know how she does it, but with any and every situation, she somehow finds the good part in it. And when my life isn’t going so well, she tells me what to do to make it better. There have been numerous times where my mother had either kicked me out, or locked me out of the house and left me without anything or anywhere to go. But I know that I can call Portia at anytime for some positive words and wisdom, no matter how bad the situation may look. When I call her and tell her that my mother is being unfair or unlogical, she never hangs up the phone without giving me some type of positive solution. I can never talk to her without getting something positive out of the conversation, which makes my good days great, and my bad days better.

Portia is the most reliable, trusting person on earth to me! As I have stated before, my mother has kicked me out numerous times. Not only does she give me positive words of wisdom, but she also picks me up where ever I am, without me asking. When she says she is going to do something, she does it. I am currently working at DSW, but dont always get enough hours to pay my phone bill each month. When I called her and told her my situation, she took the initiative to help me pay my bill until I get another job, or more hours. And this is always done efficiently and timely, without question. Whenever I have asked her for anything, she finds a way to get it done. There have been times in the past before I was employed where I needed new/more clothes and my mother would not supply it. She never called my mom and yelled at her, but instead took me shopping for apparel for whatever season it was at the time, and some for the next season coming up. If she can’t get it done, there are alternatives given to get whatever I need accomplished. I can always rely on her to tell me the truth, no matter if I like it or not. She has never let me down on her word, or her trust. And it’s not just me, but everyone she encounters is never let down.

This Strong, African-American Woman that I call my cousin, has always been there, no matter what I have done in the past or present. I am lucky enough to have a family member to look to when things at home suddenly go wrong, or I have a tough decision to make in life. She is not only my cousin, but my hero.