The Curtis-Smith Family

I can't help but to share this 2009 blog of Jasmine Curtis about "Who is her hero". It  give's us a little background about their family. It is very inspiring to know that despite their parents are separated, there's no bitterness in their hearts.

A hero for me is someone who is willing to help you in times of burden, someone who can risk their happiness for yours, someone who pulls you through even if it means hurting themselves and a hero for me is someone who can love me unconditionally. Nowadays heroes can be classified as real life heroes or “superheroes” like in the movies but a hero can be anyone, they don’t have to obtain superpowers or be overly rich they can simply be an average person who has touched your life or inspired you.

In my life I consider 4 different people my heroes but only one stands out the most. My first hero is my brother, Thomas James Curtis-Smith; throughout our lives we hadn’t always had the normal life. When we moved to Australia 4 years ago we both had to adjust. We both had to make new friends in a new school where we knew absolutely no one. It was tough and whenever I felt like everyone had turned their backs on me he was there to put a smile on my face, to pull me through the moments I thought to be unliveable.

My second hero is my father, James Ernest Curtis-Smith. Despite the fact that he doesn’t live with my brother, mother and I he continues to show his support and love and although he has a new family now he never forgets to be there as a father even if it only means calling us up to make sure everything is ok.I didn’t always have my dad around when I lived with him, he was always busy with his business trips but when he was around we spent time together watching TV, lying around, and talking. Simple but meaningful is how we tend to roll. He talks to me as if I was an adult; he doesn’t treat me like a child (even if sometimes it’s what I yearn for). I have to be honest and confess that I don’t know my father much but from what I do know is that he is an intelligent and supportive father. He is my hero because he continues to love me unconditionally and support me in the paths that I choose to take.

My third hero is my sister, Anne Curtis-Smith. We haven’t always been close, we’ve never fought and we don’t live together but this definitely hasn’t prevented us from being close over the past 2 years. How ironic that it happened when I moved here, when I am furthest away from her. I guess missing someone makes you realise how much you love them. We’ve both experienced living a tough life and we’ve both accepted our pasts. She has helped me in so many different ways, words can’t exactly describe them. She is my hero because whenever I am around her she makes me forget all the times that we were apart, all the times that we both got hurt, and all the times that we weren’t able to share together. Most especially, all the times I wished I was with her.

My fourth and most important hero is my mother, Carmencita Ojales Curtis-Smith. Compared to my other heroes she stands out the most because she has sacrificed so much for me to live the life I live now. My mother is of a Filipina and Spanish background; she was born and raised in the Philippines by her Filipina mother and Spanish father. Her role model was her grandmother who taught her everything since she couldn’t afford to attend school. Due to the fact that my mother’s life was very poor when she was a child she persisted to find a better life to give to her family.

She found a job that paid little but enough to support her siblings. She worked instead of attending school so that she could pay for her sisters and brothers school fees. She went out of her way to find another job that would pay higher, this time it meant leaving her family. This was when she first came to Australia; she worked relentlessly and sent every single cent she earned to them and kept enough for her to live a budgeted life. Her siblings all finished University and are now working all over the world including Dubai, America, Canada, Australia and the Philippines.

My mother is my hero because when we came back here to Australia she did everything for me even though she was sick. My mother is ill but this aside she is my hero. She always finds a way to support me, to make me feel happy, to show her concern for me. I thank her and remind her of my love for her so little yet she continues to be there for me. She’s the one that at the end of the day I thank God to have in my life the most. I was never close with my mum til we moved back here, she used to hardly be around the house and so I grew up with strangers taking care of me. Now that we live together, she provides for all my needs.

Sometimes I do feel as if she is pushing me too hard to be at the top but then I realize this is only because she doesn’t want history to repeat itself. She sacrifices her own happiness just so that I can be happy; so that I can live a life better than what she lived. My mother is also my best friend, only recently did I found out how much I can talk to her about. Sometimes she even acts like a silly teenager; she makes me laugh so much. My mother is definitely the hero in my life.

We all need heroes in our lives because they can be the ones that provide the change that you’ve needed or that smile which can turn your world around. Despite the fact that we are a broken family we continue to support and love each other, which is why they are my heroes.(http://jasminecurtissmith.blogspot.com/)