Throughout our lives, we have encountered a lot of people that have influenced us in some sense. Their effect may be for one day or a lifetime. Often, you don’t realize how much influence someone has made on you until a particular moment. The man who made a big influence on me was my father.

Three months after turning fourteen, my life was great. I was getting settled into a high school; my grades were already getting better and I was making friends.

One day, when I got back from school, I went to the sitting room and saw my parents having a conversation. They came up to me and asked me to take a seat, because they wanted to say something very important. I soon found out that my dad’s liver(肝脏) was failing and he needed an immediate transplant(器官移植). I was surprised and bewildered(不知所措的) because my father looked all right. He worked, and he didn’t seem ill. My parents said I shouldn’t be afraid, because it was going to be all right. Four months had gone by, and my father had yet to get a new liver. It looked as if his body was steadily worsening, but he kept saying, “Dear, everything will be just fine.”

It was becoming difficult for me and my family. My father had to give up work, and my mother was the sole breadwinner(养家糊口的人). I had to bear the responsibilities of cleaning up the house making food, and looking after my father when my mother was at work. I had to limit my time with my friends, because my father started coming in and out of the hospital. My concentration on the subject was beginning to slip away. So were my grades. Two days before my school spring break, my mother got a phone call from the hospital, saying my father had an accident and was in hospital. What surprised me was that my father wasn’t injured at all. Then the next day, my mother got a phone call from the doctor saying that there was a liver that matched my dad’s body and that he needed to get to the hospital immediately.

My great-grandmother Eileen is ambitious (有雄心的), determined, loyal, strong and a bit of legend (传奇) in her own lifetime, which now reaches 92 years. I should add that we’re not allowed to call her Gran, because she says it makes her feel old.

That summer, I lost my job and felt hopeless. One day. I paid a visit to her. On my arrival, seeing my low spirits, she asked me whether I had prepared to get a new start. I just kept silent. Without any more words, she picked up a box which she placed on the coffee table, saying “You do know what you’re doing with these things, don’t you?”

It was a new phone. Her current mobile was pretty ancient.

“Yes.” I said.

“Good. That’s why I ask you. You young people know more about such things than us oldies. You can take it home and get it all set up,” she went on. “Then, when you bring it back, show me how to use my new phone, such as getting on the Internet, sending e-mails and so on.” She smiled so sweetly. Setting up the phone would be easy, but teaching her how to use it might be challenging.

The following day I headed back to my great-grandmother’s with the phone. “Here’s your phone. It’s all ready to use.”

For the next hour, I was busy setting up her passcode (密码) and fingerprint recognition, which she said was like something out of James Bond.

When I finally got her to swipe (滑动屏幕), she didn’t put the right amount of pressure on and the menu slipped away. After what seemed like hours, she threw the phone across the room and it landed on the sofa. “Take it easy!” she howled. “I want my old phone back!”

I picked up the phone and was about to leave to give her time to cool down when I realized I didn’t want to go home when she was angry.

On a nearly winter afternoon, my dad and I decided to climb the Carpathian Mountains, about 4, 500 feet high. My dad said it would be an easy three-hour trip in a natural habitat. I couldn’t wait. Having spent spring, summer, and early fall climbing the mountains, I felt confident I’d have no trouble in climbing it.

The hillside we started was rather sloping (陡峭的). This side of the mountain was covered with a pine forest. The trees were incredibly high and thick; their knotted large roots cut the ground here and there, forming natural footsteps and making the climbing a little bit easier. The air was fresh and clean. After about 30 minutes of climbing, we heard the sound of a stream and rushed to it for a drink.

After about two hours of climbing, we found ourselves traveling over snow-covered ridge (山脊). The road became harder and more dangerous. It seemed that my dad had made a mistake — the trip was not that easy a she described. Watching the steep and rocky climb ahead, I knew I was finished. My original confidence gave way to tiredness completely. My knees were in great pain and my legs were trembling, reaching the point where I couldn’t move them at all. The peak (山顶) seemed unreachable. To make matters worse, snowflakes were starting to fall and strong winds were gathering around me. I hopelessly stared at my dad. “Dad, let’s go back. I can’t move an inch,” I said tiredly with tears pooling in my eyes.

“Just one small step at a time,” Dad encouraged me.

Eventually, we made it to the peak.