Describe an older person you admire

I'd like to talk about my grandmother's friend, Mrs Zarina, who is seventy-eight and lives in the same village as my grandparents. I've known her since I was a small child, because she was always at family gatherings and used to bring huge trays of sweet pastries.

She's a remarkable woman. Even at her age, she gets up at six every morning, walks two kilometres to the market, and tends a large vegetable garden. She also teaches the village girls how to embroider, a traditional skill she learned from her own mother. She's cheerful, talks quickly, and has a way of laughing that makes everybody around her laugh too.

There are a few reasons why I admire her. First, she has dealt with serious difficulties. She lost her husband when she was only forty and brought up four children entirely by herself, working two jobs. Yet she never speaks bitterly about it. When I asked her once how she managed, she simply said that you have to do the next thing in front of you.

Second, she's always curious. Last summer she asked me to teach her to make video calls so she could see her grandchildren abroad, and within a week she was using her phone better than some of my classmates.

I admire the combination of strength and gentleness in her. She shows that getting older doesn't mean giving up on learning or enjoying life. If I reach her age with half her energy and optimism, I'll consider myself very lucky.