When you look at the modern world, you notice that most teenagers hate their parents. They want nothing to do with them. They lie. They sneak around, and they're embarrassed. My mom must've done something right because she has the opposite effect on me. She doesn't embarrass me; I love spending time with her. I know right from wrong, and I use my best judgment in everyday life. My mom taught me that. She raised my siblings and me the right way, and she knows exactly how to treat kids to get concepts through their heads. I can always trust her discretion because there's just something about her that lets me know she's right.

Three years ago, my mom's brother died. It absolutely crushed my mom. He was so young, and they were such great friends. Unlike many other people, she carried on with her life. Her relationship with the other members of our family is stronger now. She's more involved with her faith. She knows how to take something negative and turn it into a helpful tool to make her life a success.

Altogether, she's just fun to be around. She laughs when she is supposed to laugh. You can tell her anything, and she'll listen and keep it a secret. She's kind of crazy in a way that makes you want to laugh right along with her. She doesn't talk only to people like her; she gets along with everyone. There's nothing that would make me doubt she's a hero.

By definition, a hero is a person noted for feats of courage or nobility of purpose. My mom fulfills all of that. Her bravery outshines anyone else's that I know. Sometimes, I can't muster up the courage to make a phone call or go talk to somebody, and she just does it without blinking an eye. She's never frightened to say whatever's on her mind, and she always stands up for what she believes in.

Do you remember Abraham Lincoln and how, even when the South broke apart from the country and rebelled against him, he fought for the slaves? How, when everyone else was giving up, he kept pushing through? How he found the good in every person? "If you look for the bad in people expecting to find it, you surely will." That's what Abe said because he was such a noble man.

You can see the resemblance between my mom and him. Whenever someone mistreats any of her kids, my mother stands her ground and protects us. She pushes on when nobody else does. I could tell her every bad thing I find in a person, and she'll only tell me what good she sees.

What would you describe Lincoln as? Fearless? Inspirational? Ambitious? I would say so. He always stood up for what he believed in, and he helped those around him. Notice a pattern here? Lincoln is a hero, and so is my mom. She doesn't want to be the funniest, or the prettiest, or the smartest person in the world. She just wants to be the best she can be.

Walter Payton once said, "If you ask me how I want to be remembered, it is as a winner. You know what a winner is? A winner is somebody who has given his best effort, who has tried the hardest they possibly can, who has utilized every ounce of energy and strength within them to accomplish something. It doesn't mean that they accomplished it or failed, it means that they've given it their best. That's a winner." My mom lives by that.

Roseann Cumbo Misheck-my hero.