i'm not sure that i could name just one person - my entire family greatly influenced me.
obviously, my parents influenced me. that's the easy answer. so, i'll pick a few others ...
grandpa bill - when i was growing up, everyone went over to my grandpa's house every sunday afternoon. he put a lot of emphasis on family, telling us not to take each other for granted. people will come in and out of your life, but family will always be there. some of us listened better than others. we still toast him everytime the family gets together now - with wine of course. he'd be proud.
grandpa fred - he was the first person who told me that my future was in art. i thought he was crazy. he passed away before i switched my major to graphic design.
grandma betty (elizabeth) - it's strange to be influenced by someone you never met. having been named after her, i always felt some sort of connection to her. she was killed when my mom was 14, 7 years before i was born. i've always felt like i had this responsibility, i had her name ... i needed to be proud of that. honor her however i could. i remember back in high school, i was coming from from a party with my friends and we got into a car accident. no one was hurt, but the car was totalled. the officer said another foot and all of us could have been seriously hurt. the next day, my mom told me that my accident the night before was on the anniversary of the accident that killed my grandmother and my mom's little brother. i still get chills when i think about it.
ingrid - after the accident, my grandpa bill got remarried. there is no one in the world like ingrid. the strength and love this woman possesses is incalculable. in my entire like, i think i've seen her mad twice. she is the sweetest person i've ever had the honor of knowing. she's the rock. just don't swear around the rock :)
lisa (cousin) - not all influences are good. she apparently wasn't listening when our grandpa stressed the importance of family.
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