My Grandmother

Amazing how a little girl can make history and contribute so much to society. Despite the things she went through she stayed strong. She is great influence to all of us. Like Bridges says,“Don’t follow the path. Go where there is no path and begin the trail. When you start a new trail equipped with courage, strength and conviction the only thing that can stop you is

Growing up as a little girl with a full time dad was always interesting. I was always my daddy’s little girl, or as he calls me “Lil Dawg”. He was like my side kick, Best friend, and the best dad a little girl could ask for. My father was really the only family I have ever known, from having a mother who did not care and a family who was hurtful in every way possible. My father was the only one there to wipe away my tears, to kiss my “boo-boos” when I fell, and the only one to show he loved me. I never had the life most young girls had.. I never really did the whole shopping, getting my nails done, or playing with make-up. I did the every weekend at the race track watching my dad race, as well as being known as the girl who rode dirt bikes, and played with the boys. I didn’t mind though as long as I was with my dad there was never a dull moment. My dad is a very tall man with pretty blue eyes just like mine, and as most people called him “my twin”. People often ask “what do your parents look like?” My response was always “Picture me with short hair”, because I am a smitten image of my father. I was always so appreciative of what he did, because I know he tried his best to play both roles. Despite the fact of wondering what a life with a mother would be like, Life with my dad was perfect, because that’s all I have ever known. Never did I think that my life could be transformed from perfect to a disaster….

Throughout history, there have been many people that have made an impact on the world today. Many of these individuals are well known while others are not spoken of as much. There is one person whom I think stands out the most for women. That person would be Sojourner Truth. During the year of 1797 Sojourner Truth was an African American woman who lived during the nineteenth century. Sojourner Truth was born Isabella Baumfree to the proud parents, James and Elizabeth Baumfree; she was born in a town called Esopus, NY. She died November 26, 1883 at the age of eight six at her home in Battle Creek, Michigan, leaving behind her five children. Unfortunately Truth was born into slavery; she was constantly traded between slave owners. Truth was later freed from slavery where she was forced to leave behind her husband, Thomas, and four of their children due to slavery. Over the many years that Truth was in slavery she was treated cruel and harsh. Although Truth faced many obstacles, that did not stop her. Truth worked really hard to make a huge difference in the world today. Sojourner Truth is known by many because she fought for the civil rights of others, and she used her knowledge to help inspire other slaves and women.

My grandma was a mother of three. She had my Aunt heather, Aunt Angie, and my mother. She raised my mother and Heather while going to college, which is a fight on its own, but to make it more difficult, she had hodgkins and had spent over an entire year fighting it in Iowa’s childrens hospital and held victory her senior year.. The chances of surviving hodgkins in the 60’s was around 75% and wasn’t the end for my Grandma, she lived to fight another day. Moving on in her life,She spent most of her time studying, she graduated high school on the top of her class, then going to college of hamilton for business. During that time, she had my mom and my Aunt Heather on the way.

My Big Madea was a pistol. She was as resilient as the steel covering and dangerous if messed with.Nevertheless,she was filled with bullets of love. She might not be in a history book,but she should be in my eyes. If I had an hour more to talk to her I would ask how she did it all?, What drove her to be so resilient?, and How she feels about living in a country for a 101 years without equality? The fact that she never saw equality fuels me to be an activist and reminds me to be leader and a marcher in whatever capacity I can. Rachel Cleveland was born of a slave in 1914 in Montgomery Texas. She received a sixth grade education from an all black school and never left her town. She faced the oppression of the Deep South from birth to 2017. Rebelling

A young child, neglected from birth for not being "beautiful and graceful" (Weebly Source 2) lives on through sexism to be a hero and inspiration. This child, otherwise known as Eleanor Roosevelt, still is greatly remembered today. Eleanor Roosevelt created a whole new view of women, (first ladies in particular) used persistence to overcome sexism and childhood neglect, and illuminated the world by empowering women in government as she created a lasting footprint in the history of the world. Create- Eleanor Roosevelt, former first lady did many incredible acts.

It is impossible for us, as humans, to be free of obstacles, challenges, and problems. Immediately, when I think about a tough life, I remember my beautiful grandmother, Irene Martinez. Bravery, courage, and strength are the words that describe this wonderful woman. She faced different challenges during the sixty-five years she lived. For example, the loss of her father when she was only thirteen years old. Even though she was a little girl experiencing the harshness of life, she never gave up. The loss of loved ones, sickness, and pain were some of the challenges she had to face and overcome throughout the years.

My grandmother, Joan Stackhouse, has been the most influential woman in my life. She was born in the late 1930s and raised during the time where African Americans didn’t have many rights. She told me about a time where all she could do is clean houses to earn a couple cent to support the family. Her husband worked as a policeman and was barely home. When an educational opportunity became available she took advantage of it and began taking classes at Francis Marion University to later become a teacher’s aid. Today at almost 80 she’s battling Rheumatoid Arthritis, fibromyalgia, and a couple other things that comes with old age. But she remains strong. my grandmother has influenced me to remain strong regardless of the situation and has taught

I couldn’t figure out what part she played in my life. She couldn’t remember my name when I was about eight. I wondered why. From what I know or was told, my grandmother was a little unusual for her time. Born in the 1920’s, she was the first in her family to get her bachelors and masters degrees, which was pretty impressive for a woman born in the 1920’s. She had a beautiful singing voice and was a member of AFTRA, did radio shows for KDKA in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania then became a speech pathologist and worked with children in the Milton Public School for most of her adult life. She was involved in church choirs and musical theatre and met my grandfather performing in Cohasset Summer Stock shows which were popular in the 1940s. She and my grandfather got married after he returned home from the war, settled in Milton where they raised two children, my mom and my uncle, sent them to Milton Academy, then to Harvard University and Wellesley College. They retired comfortably in their East Milton home, went to Fort Lauderdale, Florida semi-annually and did what a lot of retirees do… watched their health deteriorate. My grandfather bought an ice cream truck business and a segway when he was in his 70’s but that’s a talk for a different

“Greatness is not measured by what a man or woman accomplishes, but by the opposition that he or she has overcome to reach his goals.” This powerful quote by Dorothy Height illuminates the value of living to your fullest potential despite your circumstances and the limits that have been set for you. Being an African American woman in the early to mid-1900s, Dorothy Height had an abundance of obstacles to face and overcome. During this time, African Americans and women were still fighting to earn their natural rights. Height was a key figure in both the civil rights and women’s rights movements, often even called the “godmother of the women’s movement”. She did not conform to the limitations of society; she refused to accept the idea that she should be restricted based on her race or sex.

One of the most beloved women of our time, a role model for a generation of young

My grandmother and her siblings lived near a grocery store with old fashion wooden floor as well as freshly picked fruits and vegetables from the farm. My grandmother stated the rent prices was different compare to her days and her oldest sister had to pay only $6.50 for rent. My grandmother said back in her time a nickel was worth a whole lot and If you had a dime you were considered to have a lot of money. To return to the subject, after losing their mother, another tragedy strikes seven years later when my grandmother finds out her younger sister Veronica got married. My grandmother stated from her days you could get married at the age of fifteen if you had parents ' permission. Everyone was so upset because he or she thinks her sister was too young to get married and did not trust her husband. My grandmother said he kept saying he would kill somebody and go to jail. My grandmother said her sister husband started to give her bad vibes. To change the topic my grandmother also said one day when her sister was in bed trying to go to sleep her husband was in the bathroom taking a bath. She felt something poking at her side and turn around to see what it was. It was a bunch of knives in the bed with her. Fear for her life she left silently while her husband was still in the bathroom. One day my grandmother sister spouse had called her sister to meet him on the track. Hesitant she went to meet him that morning. After my grandmother sister was done talking to him, she turns to

“The youngest child gets everything.” I could not agree any less with this phrase when I was the youngest in my family. Every child would know the kind of ‘power’ their younger sibling has over them. Therefore, I am guilty of taking advantage of this privilege against my older brother and sister. To begin with, I purposely placed both of them in trouble whenever they made me cry or whenever they don’t obey what I want them to do. In short, I was very spoiled and stubborn child, but nevertheless, I treasured those moments where I was always their center of attention. That was before my parents told me that I was going to have a younger sister.

As a kid our parents have always told us to never talk to strangers. Not because they are bad people or dangerous, but instead because you simply do not know anything about them. When I was younger my dad always use to tell me, “Noah if you ever find yourself around a lot of strangers turn around and go back to where you came from.” It may be a cliché but every parent has said that to their children before, at least once. Let me first say that my family only consists of 6 people. Now, you may be thinking that is too small; there is definitely more than six people in his family. By blood, yes you would be correct. I count a real family as people who would give their shirt off their backs for you. Those people in my life are my mom, dad, sister, grandpa, and grandma. The rest of my blood relatives are what you could say, “hypocrites”- they say one thing to you and then their actions speak a completely different language. It’s like that one friend that says, “Bro, I’m outside.” but when you look out the window he isn’t within a mile from your house. At first it’s kind of funny, you joke around about it; but come that third and fourth time they do it you start losing trust in them and start taking everything they say with a grain of salt. Trust within my family is a huge characteristic for me and I believe that quality should be very important to everyone. Ontop of trust comes the momma rule that everybody should follow. The momma rule is, “I can talk back to my mom but if

My mom has always laughed at me and told me “Emily, you’re like an old man and a five-year-old child trapped in the body of a teenage girl.” You might be wondering “How can some be an old man, a five-year-old, and a teenage girl all at the same time,” and hopefully my story will answer your question.