By Montserrat Batista School #11

Not many people in my life have been inspiring enough to be compared to Martin Luther King Jr. If I had to pick one person that lives their life exactly like how I’d want to be one day, I’d choose my mother Heiry Quezada. To me, being like Dr. King implies you are fair, brave, nice, and strong. Most importantly, my mom shows the same amount of respect to everybody no matter their color, race, or religion. My mom thinks everyone is the same. She also thinks that we will get nowhere in life if we don’t care for everyone the same way we do for family. I would never change the way my mom sees the world.
Martin Luther King Jr. was a loving person and never used violence, no matter the cause. When I was younger my mom used to tell me stories about how when she was at work people didn’t treat her very well because she is Spanish. My mom told me instead of getting nasty and being rude, she just decided to kill them with kindness. I recommend this because it made them so mad to see her friendly reaction. When my classmates try to make me super mad by calling me names like “Monster rat” instead of my real name, I laugh with them instead of getting mad. That’s how Dr. King, my mom, and I don’t use violence or unkind words. I would never hit anyone because I know I couldn’t live with myself knowing that I hurt someone and my mom’s feelings.
When I was 9 years old I got a chance to tutor people that speak Spanish and English. I wasn’t going to take it because I thought I would mess up. Nervous, I was going to say no to helping people. My mom watched me type my response that I was not going to accept this offer. She gave me a long talk about how the only thing she wants most is for me to be a helper and be a kid again. That made me laugh but I went and said yes to the offer. Now, I’ve made so many friends from all around the world. My mom inspired me to be a helper just like how Martin Luther King helped Rosa Parks when she was thrown in jail.
Martin Luther King Jr. accepted people from all different kinds of backgrounds. My mom and I do this as well. I know so many people from India, Cuba, Turkey, Japan, China, Nigeria, Morocco and countless other places! This is all because of my mother. She is the most accepting person in my family. It’s because of her I have so many friends that I can talk to. I would never want to live my life thinking that I can only talk to people that are my race. My mom has a saying: “If we don’t see people the way we see our close friends or our family, it’s like you’re not evolving.” Who doesn’t want to evolve to be a better you?
Sometimes, I think that people won’t be like my mom because of their family situation or their backgrounds. None of that means you have to treat people differently. There’s so many other examples that say that my mom’s not racist, nonviolent, and a helper. I would say that in every situation, my mom is still like Dr. King. All that matters to me is that my mom continues to be the amazing, loving, and inspiring woman that she is. I am so grateful to have her as my mom and my role model.