My amazing niece wrote this for her expository writing class. I’m posting it here because, honestly, she makes me feel special. Of all the things I’ve done in my life, it’s nice to know I got one thing right:

I am amazing at limbo. You would not think this by looking at me since I am chunkier than most, but I am. People usually wonder why I am so good at this random game and I tell them it is because of my uncle. He has been training me for the sport ever since I was little because that’s just how he is. He would always tell me that, by using limbo, I would defeat the alien overlords when they came to earth. The head alien would attempt to verse me in a limboing duel, thinking he was superior to me. I would easily defeat him, though, and win the Earth back. Due to my skill, I would save the world. Of course, he trained me for this by constantly trying to poke my nose, which is really annoying when you’re trying to play videogames. So I would have to bend backwards to avoid his finger. My uncle makes the little things I can do seem like things that will eventually save the planet. Simply put, he makes me feel special.

My uncle is more like an over protective big brother or a father than an uncle. He cares too much about me to just be an uncle and he been there for me more than most distant relatives. It helps that we have a lot of things in common, mainly because I have always wanted to be like him. If he liked something, I would want to check it out. He is the reason I want to be an artist. He is the reason why I know way too much about Buffy the Vampire Slayer. He is the reason I know how to kick box. He is also one of the few reasons I survived through middle school and living with an alcoholic mother.

When I moved out of my mother’s house in the seventh grade, he was the first one I turned to. I immediately called him to have him get me out of there, and he did it. He had always told me that if I need his help, he would be there. At this time a lot of people had turned their backs on me, even if they said they were there. I had started to give up hope; he was the one who turned me back to the light. He saved me from Hell, gave me a place to live for eight months, and kept my mind occupied so I wouldn’t have to constantly think about my mother and the abuse I dealt with in her house. There is no doubt that he saved me, and I thank him so much for that.

I used to have terrible stage fright, horrified to talk in front of people. He helped me get over this using something you may not expect: Dungeons and Dragons. This forced me to come out of my shell and speak to other people, mostly coming up with everything off the top of my head. Having to do that every other Friday night made saying a rehearsed speech in front of a class seem like nothing.

He shaped me into what I am today. He taught me that being weird is a good thing and I should embrace my unconventional side; whether it was with stories about aliens or us bonding over a bag of D&D dice and some character sheets. He made me different from other kids, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.