The two people who inspire me most in this world are my sister, Molly, and my boyfriend, Connor. Anyone who has been on my Instagram knows about these two and probably thinks they’ve seen Connor one too many times, but I don’t care.
Now, Molly and I haven’t always gotten along. We were younger once and we’d beat each other up over a hairbrush and lie to our parents to get the other one in trouble. But, she was always my older sister and she always put me first, even when I stole her clothes and slept in her bed when I got scared at night. Molly is the oldest sibling which means she had a lot of responsibility on her shoulders that I didn’t. I never actually thought about this and realized the things she did for me until recently. She attempted to shelter me from family conflict when she could, defended my name to everyone and anyone, and supported me through any path of life I took.
Molly didn’t follow the traditional college path despite everyone’s grievances against her for this. She didn’t try in high school because she knew school wasn’t the right path for her. This is something that inspired me immensely to know that I was meant to be living life for myself, not for anyone else’s validation or what was perceived to be the “correct” path. While I still wanted to go to college, I now recognized that I wanted to do it for myself and to be the first in my family to go to college. I wanted to further my education because I loved school, not because this was what everyone else did.
Even when my sister and I stopped seeing each other at home, she still looked out for me and inspired me more than anyone else had in my life. She taught me to be independent and to do things for myself and that I will always love her for. Even if she told me Santa wasn’t real.
Another person who inspires me is my boyfriend, Connor. Connor and I just met in our senior year of high school and it felt like we just clicked. This scared me, which in turn made me treat him a little poorly. I went back and forth on the things I said, I got angry quickly, and I took the things he did for me for granted. But, Connor stuck with me in the most amazing way. He inspired me to do better and to be a better person, even when he was struggling at the same time.
I disconnected from my friends at first and got super depressed. I felt like a pile of mush all the time and was going through things on my own. He stuck by me and lifted me up, inspiring me to reach out to friends I was ignoring and to go to social gatherings with him. Connor taught me to make sacrifices for the people I love, which is why I am able to drag him on nature walks every weekend. He inspired me to be alone with myself more and to come to love the person I am, inside and out. Connor inspired me to be a better person in general, to my friends, my family, and most importantly, to him. He taught me things I will treasure for the rest of my life and every day I wake up inspired by his strength and his willingness to fight for the ones he loves.
Each time I get upset, even if it’s over the smallest and stupidest things, he apologizes simply because it upset me. Even if he doesn’t think he did anything wrong, he validates the way I feel and fights to stick with me. I don’t know who taught him to do this, but moody, anger-driven Ally thanks you for this. He has always inspired me with this quality of his because before, I was a very angry person who believed I couldn’t really do wrong when I was mad. It was hard for me to take accountability and apologize for my actions, but he inspired me to do this, even though it’s still difficult.
I’ve never met a man quite like Connor or a woman quite like Molly and every day is a blessing to be inspired by them both. They both work hard in their fields, Connor in his trade and Molly in cosmetology. Even though they don’t have everything figured out, they continue to motivate me and help me find my path in life. I am continuously inspired by the two most beautiful people I know.