Aunt Martha was the greatest person I have ever known. She was actually my great aunt; the sister of my grandmother. She had never married and had children of her own and so she had devoted her whole life to her nieces and nephews. She was always the favorite of all of them.

When mom had me, she was single and had little money. She was going to give me up for adoption in order to give me a better life, but Aunt Martha talked her out of it, convincing mom to move in with her so that she could help out with me. She became like my second mother and we were always very close.

When she passed away, I was devastated. I did not know what I would do without her. We found out that she had left child trust funds for both me and my brother, stating that she wanted us to buy a house and go to college. It was so like her to do something like that and that is why I miss her so much. She found a way to encourage us to reach our full potential even after she had passed away.