A 6’3 student who ranks 3rd out of their Junior class is someone who’s bound to stand out in the crowd. But Ose Mokhihan, a son of two immigrant parents, is someone who chooses to live a reserved life. For Ose, life is something precious that shouldn’t be taken for granted. 

He studies hard, takes care of his three brothers, listens to other people’s struggles, and strives to be a good person.

Excelling academically came easy for Ose, but hard work and determination caused him to truly value success in that area. Yet the constant pressure he received from his parents taught him that hard work pays off when you try hard enough. 

“I believe that my parents being strict on me has helped me become the person I am today,” Ose said. 

Being raised with high expectations and having the pressure to do well in school caused Ose to want to excel in all aspects of his life. Whether that’s sports, having friends, making his parents proud, or just being happy, Ose puts continual effort into everything and is someone we all should aspire to be.                                                                                                                                                      

Being the eldest in his family, Ose set an example for his younger brothers ever since he was young. Despite it being hard to carry the expectations that his parents put on him, he learned not only that it is valuable to care for his family and be an example to his brothers but also to help others around him as well. Even when it seemed that no matter how hard he tried to do the work that his parents put on him, it was never enough, Ose still pushed through to be the person that his parents wanted and the person that he wanted to be in life. 

“Having to take care of my brothers was hard, especially since they would get special treatment while I would do things like clean the kitchen all by myself,” Ose said. “My younger brother was also raised a lot less strict than I was, and that made me feel like my brothers got it easier than I did.,” Ose continues. 

No matter how his parents treated his brothers, Ose continues to care for them and take care of them because he believes that everyone deserves to be treated fairly.

Ose also cares about his own well-being and life, but he also makes sure to check up on his friends just to see if they’re doing all right. Being someone who has a great sense of humor and a natural nature to know what to say has helped his peers get through hardships and mental battles.

“I would describe Ose as being someone who is easy going, and a fun person to be around. He always makes me laugh, he knows exactly what to say when I’m in a bad mood. I truly believe we all need a friend like Ose,” Leilah Weathersby said. “ I remember a time when I had a lot of stress going on and Ose used humor to help me overcome the stress, and it did help a lot.,” Leilah Weathersby continued.

Being the type of person who is quick to help others, has helped Ose to learn how to help his peers in a way that would help build their character and confidence. Ose encourages and uses humor to help the people around him.

Knowing life morals helps us have the right direction of where we want to go, Ose makes sure that what he does will have a positive perspective no matter what the situation is. He emphasizes different life lessons that he lives by, describing one of them being, “you weep what you sow,” explaining it by saying your actions, what you do, and who you chose to hang out with affects your character. Living as a Christian, and as someone who believes in life’s morals, has caused Ose to wake up every day striving to be a better person for himself, his family, and the people around him.

Even though, life proceeds to throws challenges at Ose. and the people around him are continuing to change, and he’s always pressured to be great. Ose still decides to persevere through life and gets things done being the great person that he is.