Personal Narrative: Loss And Grief

On 09/12/2016, I Deputy Daniel Pruitt was dispatched to 52455 West Highway 16 for an unattended death compliant. I arrived on scene st 6:45pm and meet with Creek County EMS unit 40.

I come across a rear projection TV on the side of the road one day, load it up, and take it home. I eagerly spend a good four hours stripping it down and saving as much as I can. I end up with a 48” fresnel lens, two hefty speakers, a couple large capacitors, three glass lenses, and a glass mirror. Left over is a box of electronic waste and the particle board skeleton of a TV. I take the electronics to my local electronics recycling center, and set the wooden frame on the curb. I took 70 lbs. of trash and turned it into 10 lbs. of treasure ripe for projects, 30 lbs. of recyclables that would have gone to a landfill, and 30 lbs. of refuse that I had fun

I have lost my grandpa and have not gotten over the idea of it. When I was in the sixth grade, my grandfather was very sick; he could barely walk. While my grandmother and some other family members went uptown for some household things, food, and medication, I was told to take care of him. Yet, I wanted to play with my friends outside. He told me to go ahead and play, but for some reason I just got mad and slammed the door and left. Around nighttime, I seen an ambulance pull up to my grandparents’ house.

My grandmother, who is the mother of my mom, passed away due to heart failure at the age of 87. Since I was 6 or 7 she had been living in our house. The reason for that was, my grandfather, that I was named after passed away a year before I was born, so she was alone, and she was starting to get old. Since she lived with us for so many years, she had been a very important figure in my life. I can honestly say that she was like a 3rd parent for me, and losing her, made me fell horrible and helpless. I witnessed how real death is because of her passing. Combined with puberty, my grief caused me to become depressed for a long time. As I’m looking back it sounds really extreme, but there were some days that I did not even leave the bed thinking that there was no point to our existence. Thanks to some psychological counselling however, I was able to overcome that mental

Dealing with grief is never easy. One of the hardest time in anyone’s life is when an acquaintance or a loved one passes away. In the second week of the Fall 2016 semester, I received a devastating call. I walked into my chemistry class, and my mom called me from Turkey to tell me that my grandmother had passed away. I sat in silence in the car on the way home and thought about my grandmother. She had taught me innumerable important lessons throughout my life. Losing her changed everything, and I knew I had to return to my home country to say goodbye to my grandmother.

I was incredibly excited. School was starting tomorrow. The first few days were just icebreakers, learning everyone’s names, blah blah blah. Then the real learning began. Of course, teachers started to write our lessons on the board. I started to notice a few changes in what I was seeing. The words they were writing were just...black lines! I didn’t pay much attention to it, I just asked my friends what the board said. As the year went on, it affected me more and more, especially in math. I saw a 2 as a 6, and and an A as an 8.

Well this year was a hell of a year. I mean, i didn't pass any of the semesters but i did observe a ton of stuff that went on in the class. The class in general was pretty lit. Every day went by and i honestly did some work. The class was ready to learn as mrs g was ready to teach. I mean yea we had some days were we didn't want to learn anything and there were also days when mrs g didn't want to teach. But ima be honest, doing the work we did wasn't in my best interest. Most of the projects we did in class i worked on, but at the end i didn't end up liking how i did it so i wouldn't even bother turning anything in. like the obituary we had to write about ourselves. I liked the meaning behind this but honestly i didn't want to work on that because it just brought back memories of my friends that were killed.

The leather feels cold under my fingertips as I sit on our living room couch. My feet are propped up on the small coffee table, banging together lightly in boredom. Mom sits with me, our shoulders barely touching. It's only been twelve hours since I found Laura in the alley and the police already want to put us into protective custody. I don't want to go, but there is nothing tying me here anymore. Laura's gone.

The clouds were black, immeasurable, and grotesque. I still believe it was because my best friend was leaving for war. My friend Nicholas was the only person that I could have reliance and certainty with. He was the person that when the stresses of the world got to heavy on my shoulders he would pick the world up of my shoulders and carry the burden of the stresses of reality for me. In the end there are no words to describe the signification he has in my life and there is no comfort that can fix the loss that I feel in my heart because of his absence. So for the time being my heart will be in two places, half with me here in Denver, Colorado and the other half in Kandahar, Afghanistan.

am beset {long pause} How long will I let the pain and loss define my life? An enduring struggle of loss and gain A monumental achievement through the tangles of deeds But is left alone with silent words

Sometimes, the sorrowful events in life bring out the best in your life and yourself. Two years ago, I went through true maturation through a traumatic event that immensely affected me as a person. As pencils were being sharpened and the sounds of school filtered back into my life, I found out my Grandma had Cancer. In an effort to provide better treatment, she came to live with us for four months. That time was incredibly precious and special as I saw my Grandma in a whole new light. I saw her strength, her tenacity, and her positivity.

The situation of loss was my own family. A little background about my extended there were all heavy smokers and non-diagnosed alcoholics. My grandparents died within 6 months of each other. My grandmother died unexpectedly, leaving my grandfather alone to drink himself to death. They left behind five daughters and three sons. The loss of my grandparents impacted their children in different ways. Most of which, four daughters and a son, did not change their way of life and have died from cancer, strokes, or liver disease within 15 years of my grandparents’ death. My father along with a brother and sister took it upon themselves to quit smoking and drinking. My father started running and working out the local gym his was in good health. Even with the lifestyle changes my father had he still battled colon cancer, however he has been in remission for the 10 years. My father’s brother and sister do not to have any major health issues they are in their late 60’s. I have twenty cousins that are alive. The cousins do not seem not be excessive drinkers although a few do smoke.

The year was 1943, I had just turned fifty years old a week ago on April 20th, When the Germans came. The Germans built barbed wire fence around the town that I made my living in. We were not allowed to anything and had little space and food. Then came the order, trucks were filled with humans similar to cattle to be sent to internment camps. When the trucks were full the rest were told to remain put for when the trucks came back. Everyday the trucks came and everyday more people left. On the fifth day the ghetto looked like a ghost town. The rest of the residents, including me were loaded onto the trucks. A few people were shot in this process, they were the lucky ones. On the ride I wondered how I got here, then I remembered

I won't be disappointed anymore. The utter bitterness taste of a loss. Set me back centuries from mental state, but by repeating the same mistakes at the same tournament. It was my sophomore year i was on the wrestling team. the heat immense in my warm up gear as i drilled moves with my partner deeandre. It was the biggest tournament in my eyes. It was junior varsity conference tournament held at new trier high school a school we despised for reasons I didn't even know. But that didn't matter at the time it was time for me to win this baby, win the whole thing, bring a trophy home,a medal, something I told myself. It was held in a gym 3 mats, three score tables and referees. each table would go by a weight class and call your name. this was

I enjoy writing and editing, and I like The Wake’s unblinking eye. In all seriousness though, writing is a passion of mine, and there’s nothing more satisfying than making the writing as clean as possible. It is for these basic but essential reasons that I am applying for the Managing Editor and Copy Editor positions.