“Jas te Okay,?” translates as “are you okay?” from Bosnia. I ask this question to my parents, friends, and family every day. It’s like I have this urge to make sure that they are okay, not angry or sad. My friends, family, and our relationships affect me so much that every day I have to ask this simple question, “are you okay?” The love and happiness from these relationships influences and impacts me, bettering my life. The meaning they bring to my life is indescribable.

The most important relationship I have is with my mother. My mom and I have a very close relationship, however, it did not start off that way. There was a time when we could not be in the same room together because it would eventually erupt into flames and tears by words said to each other. This phase did not last long. However, all the tears and anger between each other brought us closer in the end. As time went on, we developed a more interpersonal relationship by opening up more instead of being more private with each other. We continued on managing the tension between us two. We admitted that there was a need to alter our relationship and create a better balance.

She teaches me about life, but not only that– she lets me experience it myself. That’s why she is so important to me. We can spend long nights just talking until the morning about nothing and everything. She helps give me different perspectives on situations. Before I make any major decision, I feel compelled to have her approval and consent. She has such an influence on my life– it’s kind of unreal. My mother has been through so much in her life, so much pain. When she longs for the past sometimes, if I’m lucky, she gives me little sneak peeks of her past by telling stories. They’re stories of the war, school, moving to America, her life. Through her stories, she shows and discloses her true self.

Throughout my life, people have touched my life while impacting me. I have grown and they have grown with me, through all the hiccups and bumps that make me who I am. They’re important and are a huge aspect of who I am. My relationship with my mother is just one connection through the hundreds that I have experienced through these past four years. I’m sad to see an end to some of these relationships as the date of graduation becomes closer, but honestly, I think I’m ready to start new. I’m ready to make new relationships and see where these will take me. I’m ready for my future; I am counting down the strikes of the clock as times is flowing by.

No matter the language, Bosnian, English whatever it is, the love and connections I have made with people will always be persevered and never forgotten. They will transform into beloved memories reflecting upon the “good old days.” I’m fighting with conflicting emotions of wanting to let go and desperately want to hold tight. This town and these people are all I’ve ever experienced and I just want to say thank you. Thank you for each little connection, all intertwining hundreds of people together, impacting and influencing my life in a better way.