Everyone has a very special person in their life who has influenced them the most. It could be a family member, a friend, or a teacher. There have been many influential people in my life, but my aunt is the one who has been the greatest impact on my life.

Picture an average height lady with dark brown, almost black, hair and tan skin. She has deep brown eyes and a good sense of style. My aunt, Jena Munson, was born with a disability. She was born without a hand. Even though my aunt was born without a hand, it did not set her back. She was an average kid who wanted to do the same things as any other child.

When Jena was sixteen years old, she wanted to get her drivers’ license. She was able to drive perfectly fine and passed all of the tests, but when someone saw that she did not have two hands they did not believe that she was capable of being a safe driver. They made her take another driving test to see if she could and boy did she show them.

Jena was a softball pitcher, and most people wonder how she could do that. Well she pitched with her left hand and then kept her glove on her other arm and quickly put it on right after she let go of the ball. She was able to throw all pitches, but her best pitches were her fastball and curveball. She got a full scholarship to the University of South Dakota to pitch for their softball team.

The reason why my Aunt Jena is the most influential person in my life is because she inspires me every day. The way she stood up to the people who did not believe in her ability to drive, shows that she is confident. She is the reason why I became a pitcher. I thought it was so cool how she was able to pitch with only one hand. Jena is a recreational therapist in Omaha, Nebraska where she has two children of her own. She is constantly running them to school, sporting events, and to friends’ houses. Both of her children are in year round baseball and softball, requiring a lot of traveling. Managing to keep up with her children and maintain her job is very inspiring.

Jena has also inspired me to become a recreational therapist or work in the area of those with a disability. This summer she let me come and help at her Wheelchair Sports Camp program, for children age six up to a senior in high school. Our day started at 8 am and ended at 3 pm. Each day we had people come and teach the children the different activities we had for them. There was a variety of people that came to teach them. We had high school boys to teach football, martial arts and archery instructors, a Paralympic volleyball and basketball player, and even a few of the Creighton basketball players. It was one of the most amazing things I have ever done and I learned a lot in that one week. I was able to meet children who had all sorts of different disabilities and learn about their lives. Helping at this camp had such a touching effect on me and I was glad I was able to be apart of making these kids have an amazing week. After experiencing a little bit of what Aunt Jena does for a living it just makes me look up to her even more than I had before.

My Aunt Jena has affected my life in many ways and she has inspired me to do many things. She has taught me to never give up on myself or what I believe in. I only hope that when I grow up I can be as influential as her.