The Death of My Loving Grandfather
The author of this story has created the collage seen above. (Click to see the full-sized image.)
This happened during the spring break my of my Sophomore year in high school. I was sixteen years old. It was a beautiful day that morning with the sun shining ant the wind blowing just a little. I had promised my grandfather that I would spend my whole spring break with him. His birthday came and we threw him a party that weekend. The Monday of my spring break my cousin told me he was in the hospital. He was on life support for the whole week of my spring break. Later that evening it stormed.
My grandfather died at West Suburban Hospital in the trauma room. The smell of sickness was all around the floor. Every single patient that was on that floor was on life support. The parking lot was so full that we had to park way down the street.. Sometimes I think I kept my promise because I stayed with him the whole time he was in the hospital.
It was very strange that my grandfather died when my aunt came back from her vacation. She asked God, “If he was to go, let him wait until I get home to see him”. Sure enough he did.
I grew up around my grandfather my whole life. He taught me how to cook and clean. He also taught me right from wrong, he was my world, I would do any and everything for him. It was hard for me to get over his death. After the break I couldn’t really focus in school, I didn’t hand homework in as much, and I stayed to myself a lot. It was hard for me to open up to anyone because it hurt so badly.
I lost the one man who taught me everything I needed to know about life when I was growing up. He was the one who I could tell anything to. When he died it seemed like I lost my life, it seemed like my life was over until I had a talk with close family members. They told me to use his death as strength and not a weakness. So instead of dropping grades in my classes I began to pass all of them with A’s and B’s. I knew he wouldn’t have wanted me to fail; he would want me to continue with my studies and life.
The tragedy has made my personality better inside and out. I am a very humble, beautiful, and talented young lady. Since my grandfather’s death, I have more encouraging words to share with others. Now I can give great advice to others because of my past situation. I never let anything keep me down and I always keep a smile on my face because I’ve come too far to let anything keep me down now. This has also increased my trust in God because now I truly see that he makes everything happen for a reason and that with his help I can do all things.
The one who truly helped me get through this tragic journey was my cousin. She helped me realize that all things happen for a reason. Her personality is so beautiful and humble that it shows in everything she does. She’s a person that loves to laugh, have a good time, and study her school work all the time. My cousin carries herself in a decent and lady like way. She believes in determination because she’s very determined in all that she does. She doesn’t settle, she keeps striving for what she wants. Sometimes she’s a little too nice to people. She doesn’t know how to say no so people take her for granted. I admire that she’s such a smart and humble person who’s beautiful on the inside and out. This is how she helped me to overcome my tragedy; seeing her stay motivated and wanting to continue made me want to do the same thing.
During all of these tribulations you would thing that I made many enemies, but the only enemy I had was death. This has made me a better person because now I don’t take life for granted. This also made me visit my family more often. I learned that death is just like life, its natural and it happens every day. Knowing that the healthiest person in the world could die because of natural causes, makes me live life to the fullest. I know how, when, and where to do things, now how to have fun while doing it also. I take safe precautions, but have fun, life is too short. Even though my grandfather is dead he still encourages me to do my best everyday.
