Describe a person you admire

OK, so the person I want to talk about is my aunt Rina. She is my mother's younger sister and she has a small tailoring shop near our house. I know her since I was born, actually, because when I was child she used to look after me after school, so I spent a lot of time in her shop.

She is a very hard-working person. She opens the shop at seven o'clock every morning and she don't close until late at night. She is also very patient, even when customers is rude to her she just smile and listen to them. I think she is the most calm person in our whole family.

The main reason I admire her is because she started her business from zero. Her husband passed away when she was only thirty, and she had two kids to look after. Many people told her to sell the sewing machines, but she didn't listened to them. Now she has three people working for her, and she paid for both of her children to go to university. Whenever I feel stress about my exams, I remember her and I think, if she can do this, I can do also. So yes, she is my role model, I would say.

The person I'd like to talk about is my aunt Rina, my mum's younger sister, who runs a tailoring shop just round the corner from where I grew up.

I've known her my whole life, really. When I was in primary school my parents both worked long hours, so I'd go straight to her shop after class and do my homework on a stool between rolls of fabric. Looking back, I probably learned more in that shop than I did in some of my lessons.

As for what she's like, the first word that comes to mind is resilient. She's up before six, she's still at her sewing machine at nine at night, and yet she never seems to lose her temper, even with the most demanding customers. She's also got a really dry sense of humour, which makes her great company.

But the main reason I admire her is what she's been through. She lost her husband when she was only thirty, with two small children to raise, and a lot of relatives advised her to sell the business and move back in with her parents. She refused. She built up a loyal customer base almost from scratch, she now employs three people, and she put both of her kids through the university without any help. So whenever I feel overwhelmed by my studies, I think about the obstacles she faced, and suddenly my own problems seem a lot more manageable.

I'd like to talk about my aunt Rina, my mother's younger sister, who has run a small tailoring business in our neighbourhood for as long as I can remember.

I've known her all my life, but we really became close when I was about eight. Both my parents worked late, so after school I'd head straight to her shop and do my homework perched on a stool, surrounded by bolts of fabric and the constant hum of sewing machines. To be honest, it was a bit of a second home, and I still drop in most weekends.

If I had to sum her up in one word, I'd say she's unflappable. Customers turn up demanding a wedding outfit by the next morning, a machine breaks down in the middle of a rush, and she just takes it in her stride. She's also incredibly generous with her time; she taught half the girls on our street to sew, and she never charged any of them a penny.

What I admire most, though, is how she rebuilt her life. She was widowed at thirty with two young children, and plenty of people expected her to give up the shop. Instead, she threw herself into it, gradually earned a reputation for meticulous work, and ended up putting both of her children through university on her own. I suppose what strikes me is that she never presents any of this as heroic; as far as she's concerned, she simply did what had to be done. That quiet determination is something I'd love to have.