Before I tell you about my precious thing, I want to thank all of you for sharing with all of us the precious thing(s) you have in your life. Whether it is your family, health, teaching, dream, cell phone, friend, or pet if it is precious to you then it is also very precious to me.

Thank you for telling us your story. Thank you for having the courage to stand up in front of everyone and give your speech. Thank you for spending all the time it took to write and then memorize your speech. Thank you for letting me and everyone get to know you a little bit better. You are all amazing students and I am so thankful and grateful to have the honor of being your English teacher. Whether or not you win, you have done something spectacular and brave. No matter what, remember to appreciate, thank, love, and take care of your precious thing(s). If you do, then those precious things will last for a very long time.

Since you took the time to share your precious thing(s) with me I’d like to share mine with you. Like many of you the most precious thing to me is my family. Without them all the other precious things I hold dear like my dreams, friends, and future would be meaningless. My family is the most precious thing to me because they love, encourage, protect, and support me unconditionally in everything I do. Without them I’d be nothing. They are my everything. I’ll always do my best to make them smile, laugh, and feel at peace when I am at their side.

My family is made up of my grandmother, mother, older sister, younger brother, and me. I’m sure a lot of you are wondering about my father, he left us when I was seven years old, and my mom has raised us as a single mother since then. That is why I love my mother more than anything in this universe. She has sacrificed and suffered so much for the three of us and I am forever thankful to her for the love she continues to shower on us.

I didn’t meet my maternal grandmother Florence Olasogba till I was in high school, but ever since she came into my life I’ve been able to understand and feel the love of a grandparent. She cooks my favorite foods, tells me stories, listens to me, gives me advice, and is just a blessing to have. I’m lucky to have such a strong and beautiful grandmother with me. Her warm hugs and sweet smile make all the sad moments fade away.

My mother  is the most precious person to me on this earth. The love and affection I feel for her goes beyond words but I’ll try to describe it for you. My mother has always believed in me. Everything and anything I want to do she would always say “it is well” “you can do it!!!” “just believe in yourself” and those words would give me the courage to go after my dreams. My mom raised me to be strong, and the strength she planted inside of me has helped me grow into the woman I am now. She is my biggest inspiration and greatest gift, and I love her immensely.

My older sister is so beautiful and amazing from the inside out that sometimes I wonder if she’s even from this planet. She has always been like a second mom to me. Growing up she would do a lot of mom things for my brother and I like make dinner, check our homework, tuck us into bed, and just be there when we needed her. She’s always been the one with the heart of gold even if she doesn’t realize that. She’s someone who knows who she is and won’t let anyone make her feel like anything less. My sister and I are very close, like two peas in a pod. I can tell her anything and know that she’ll always be there to help me.

My younger brother is the baby in our family. When we were growing up we fought like “cats and dogs” but even then we still loved each other. As we grew up we became kinder to each other, and I feel like we are very close even though we are very different. My brother is quiet, and keeps to himself most of the time, but when he does speak you better listen up because it is usually important unless he’s talking about video games!

These four people are the most precious things I have in this world. They are my heart and my soul. Forever and always they will be my precious things.

Thank you for listening, and I hope that you never forget to cherish your precious thing(s)!

Be blessed,
~Lola O.~

I wrote this speech this morning to share with my students who are participating in the English speech contest tomorrow.