Observing My Father

It took me one hundred and ninety two months to realize the unprecedented influence my father made on my life. My father, George Dean is who I credit my accomplishments and success after, both inside the classroom and everyday life. It was at one hundred and twenty months that I began the journey that would allow me to understand the significance my father has played in my life today. It was fifth grade when I learned that my father has been diagnosed with cancer and the tedious trips to the hospital began. With each passing month and hospital trip I unknowingly learned lessons about life that I would not understand until later. Observing my father battle cancer has taught me many life lessons that can only be learned from first hand experience and the impact he made on my life by doing so has shaped me today.
The first thing my father taught me was that life can be unfair at times and the best way to handle it is by doing more and being better than the situation you are in. Doing so my father and I began to work out and eat healthier which is a recommendation his doctor made. At this same time it was clear that the cancer was taking a toll on his body, but he kept pushing on and displaying to me, a young child that fortitude is the only way to keep going in life. Helping the same man who taught me how to walk, walk into a hospital is a task that I found very difficult and hard to grasp. The disease not only affects a patient but also takes a toll on the family around them. Being mentally tough through the stages of my father's cancer is one of the greatest lessons I could have learned from