My Grandfather

MY GRANDFATHER
By: Jennifer Starliper
There isn't any person who has impacted my life as much as my grandfather. He was there for me when my own father wasn't. He was there for me to give me advice and support me when no one else would. He was there for me when my parents had divorced and I felt all alone. Up until the day he had died, he always supported me and helped me through any hardship. Although he may be gone now, he will always have an effect on my life. Through his strict personality and positive attitude, he taught me to be a better person and to always chase your dreams.

My father was never there for me. He was either busy with work or just didn't care enough to even talk to me. Due to this, my grandfather had served as my father figure. As early as I can remember, he was always there, whether to guide me down the right path or just for support. He would find the time to come to my little league games to watch them, or the plays that I was in when I was in school, drove me to and from school when I had no one else, and guide me down the right path when I had no one to show me. When I came home complaining about homework, he would be there to tell me I have to do it. He would say, "If you work hard now, you'll reap from all the benefits later on." I can still now remember him constantly saying this every time I complained about something. When I came home from school one day to see my father gone and my mother still at work, I felt alone. There was no one there who I could ask for help on my major science project that was due the next day. I sat in my quiet room, wondering what I should do. The first thing to come to mind was my grandfather; I knew he could help me through this situation just like all the others he had. I called him and told him what was wrong and he responded with his great advice. He said there wouldn't always be someone there who could help and that you always should try to never rely on others. His guidance through my younger years really shaped me into the person I am. I can rarely remember a time that my grandfather wasn't there for me when I was growing up.

As I grew older, he started to give me more important advice. He would tell me, "Never let anyone get you down" or, "There's always a better way to accomplish something. You just have to find it." I would always listen to his advice, no matter how small it was. He also started to encourage me to find a passion. To him, he wanted to see me do something I would always enjoy and make something out of it. When I first discovered how much I loved using computers, I was discouraged from using them because like my father would say, "They serve no purpose." However, my grandfather encouraged me to look into them more and told me that, "Everything has a purpose." I listened to his guidance and when I was in high school I was taking computer science courses and still enjoying learning even more from them and hopefully will have my career based around them. If I hadn't of listened to my grandfather, I would've never brought this simple hobby of using computers to what I call now, a passion.

I deeply appreciate the guidance my grandfather had given me throughout my life. I wish to this day that he would be alive to see me succeed now and give me his daily advice. Although he may not be here, I still will be guided through the small talks we had and all of encouragement he had given me. Thanks to my grandfather for always being around and making me the person I am today with the ability to get through any hard spots that I wasn’t able to get through when I was younger.