“Hard work is the bridge between goals and accomplishments.” This metaphor says that after goals are made, working hard towards those goals is what turns them into accomplishments.  The bridge is like what work must be done in order to make accomplishments, if I set a goal but I never work towards the goal, it will never become my accomplishment. This perfectly represents everything that my dad has taught me. He has taught me how to be independent, work hard towards my goals, and how try again if it doesn’t work. I feel that this metaphor is perfect for my dad because he pushes us to make our own goals, accomplish them on our own, and work hard for what we want. Those are some of the examples of how my dad has really influenced my life over the years.
              

When I was younger I wanted to be a chef so my dad would always cook with me and let me help make family meals. The lessons he taught me when we were cooking have really impacted who I am as a person. He taught me so much about cooking, from the simple little things like, how to make spaghetti, to helping me cook things like fried pickles, and fancy stir fries. When we were cooking he would always make it fun. He taught me that doing little things, like making a meal means a lot when it’s done as a family.  Even when I would mess up and overcook something, or put way too much of an ingredient in the recipe, he would always help me fix things and teach me how to do it better next time.  And he would always encourage me. When I gave up on a recipe or messed it up and got frustrated he would always encourage me to keep cooking and never give up.  The lessons he taught me when we were cooking, such as ; fixing my mistakes, being encouraging, and never giving up has really become a part of who I am.
                  

Like cooking, he always supported anything I wanted to do and we always have had the same interests. Because we had the same interests, I wanted to learn more from my dad and he wanted to teach it to me more. Now all the lessons he taught me I get to use in my life. Ever since I can remember we have had a garden, our first garden in St.James had all the vegetables you could imagine along with apple trees, pear trees, raspberries and even grapes.  I have always had an interest in providing my own food and raising my own animals.  So, when we moved to Cannon Falls 7 or 8 years ago, the first thing me and my dad did was plant a garden.  He has taught me everything I know about gardening and growing your own food, from when to plant them, how much water they need, how much sun they need when to harvest them. Now I will admit, weeding sucked! We had to weed the garden a lot so that the plants would grow. Working in the sun on a Saturday when it was 95 degrees out was not my favorite thing, but dad always encouraged us to keep working hard and get it done no matter what. I think knowing this has really influenced me in school too, when I have homework I hate leaving an assignment unfinished. Now that my dad has taught me to finish the job and work hard, it has really improved how I do in school and how I will do in college.
                  

Some very important qualities that I have are being creative and innovative. Both of those are qualities my dad taught me through working, specifically when we moved.  We moved to a new house about a year ago that has 22 acres of pasture. I have always wanted a horse and I was the perfect place for one, in fact we already have a horse boarded there. So we decided that we want to get cows and horses.  But in order to get them we have to move the fence because it is all overgrown.  So we recently started on moving the fence. My dad is amazing at figuring out how things work. He just looked at the corner post and knew how to do it.  Now he is passing on his knowledge to me and my siblings and teaching us how to problem solve and be independent.The fence has been a very long project but we have been making a lot of progress. For example, it was me and my dad and we were trying to figure out how to move the wire easily. My dad came up with the the brilliant idea of just disconnecting the line and pulling it through with the fourwheeler. It is things like that, that show me just how much my dad shaped me to be innovative,creative, and solve problems.
          

My dad is someone who has had a very big impact on my life and has taught me many life lessons through cooking, gardening, and fencing. Whether we are moving fence,building a chicken coop, pulling weeds  or even just simple tasks like mowing the lawn, my dad has always had something to teach us through doing those tasks.  Some things my dad has taught me is to be  perseverant, work hard,  be innovative and creative, solve my own problems, be encouraging, and fix my mistakes. All of those things have really impacted me as a person and now are things that I live by. My dad has been a huge influence in my life and been an amazing role model for me to look up to. I am looking forward to the future and seeing what other things my dad will teach me.