Why I Am Born On My Family

My great-grandmother was the matriarch of my family. When I was in seventh grade, around thirteen years old, she passed away due to breast cancer. This misfortune created an extremely difficult time for me because, not only was I adjusting to the environment of junior high, but many other issues were occurring in my life; this was the third death that I was having to deal with. Unfortunately, one of the previous deaths (that I was still trying to hurdle through and come to terms with), had occurred almost exactly a year before the passing of my great-grandmother. The second death that I had gone through occurred only one or two months before my great-grandma has passed. All of this turmoil created numerous internal conflicts for me, but also taught me a key lesson to keep note of, for the rest of my life.

Losing a grandparent at the age of 11 and younger was hard enough but losing one at the age of thirty-five hurt just as much. My grandmother is still living, I wasn't as close to them as I was to my other grandparents but there was still a relationship that was built throughout my lifetime. I had the chance to visit my grandfather while he was in the hospital. Regretfully when I went to see him he was too ill to have a conversation with, but my grandmother reassured me that it was ok because he knew I was there. My grandfather was cremated, this was the first time I attended a funeral where I saw a box of ashes holding someone who I loved. His funeral consisted our close family members and my grandfather's remains were placed in a mausoleum. His death affected all of us in one way or another, this was the first time I saw my dad cry. It makes me sad that he is no longer with us but glad he is no longer

In that summer prior to moving in the fall, I grew anxious and eager. My friends slowly began to move to their new colleges and I thought to myself “wow, this is really happening!” Unfortunately, my sister and I (we are twins) started school on the same day so our parents had to split up and take me to California and her to New York. My mom traveled with me and I remember us sitting in the airport waiting for our flight watching my last sunset, and she said “I am so happy for you. I know you will enjoy this.” I knew I would

Early October 2016 to January 2017, was the hardest time ever in my life. In October we found out that my Grandpa had a very aggressive form of stage four brain cancer. We knew that there was something wrong but we never thought it would be that bad. For the next month, the doctors ran tests, decided on a game plan, and gave results. My grandpa was in severe pain and confusions. We got the results that he would need to go through surgery on his brain to remove the tumor. This was around November 15. That was probably the scariest day of my life. His surgery and I will never forget, was at 12:10 pm. I remember sitting at the kitchen counter and I just prayed for half an hour. After that, I remember going on my computer and searching on Google

I was going to Brentwood Middle School when I got the news. I was just starting to find my friend group. Then I was told I would be transferring to a new group of schools. I would be moving 20 minutes down the road into a little town called Nolensville. When I thought it couldn’t get any worse, I would have to transfer schools again after I finished my freshman year. During my sophomore year of high school, I began at Nolensville. This school and town have changed me in ways I never thought it would.

Five years ago in 2012 my Aunt Mary died from cancer. Cancer had consumed her whole body. It started in her liver and spread to different organs and even reached her brain. When she found out she had cancer she was told she only had a few months to live. I had just seen her on a trip we had before we found out she had cancer and that was the last time I saw her.

The summer of 2015 was the summer I moved for the first time in my life. Moving was a mix of emotions because after thirteen years I became attached to my bedroom and the looks of my house. The certain smells I would get when I walked through the door. Then, leaving that house that I have lived in and that bedroom I slept in for all those years was hard. It was a nice house and all, and I loved my room, but only a couple days later, I was already comfortable in my new home.

The feeling of losing someone you love is indescribable. It came upon my family so suddenly, not a day goes by that I don’t think about my grandma. I tell myself everyday not to take life for granted, and after 2 years I am still learning.

In April 2013 during the spring break of my sophomore year of high school, I lost my father due to a heart attack. This brought my life and my family to a complete standstill. Not only was this devastating but it put a financial burden on my family as my mother struggled to keep my brother in college. It was only by the grace of God that he was able to

My grandma, Awi, was a smoker. She couldn’t stop smoking. I felt bad, but my sympathy for her grew tremendously when she was diagnosed with lung cancer. I was so depressed to see my family suffer, especially my father. My dad loved my grandma dearly that he would stop at nothing to make her feel comfortable, and he would even take the precaution to not allow her to walk by herself since she was so weak and tired. I didn’t understand why, but I was willing to help my grandma She always said, “I will be there to see you graduate.” I felt bad. When she died, I and my family suffered greatly. My dad always told me “you never know how much someone means to you until they're gone.” I’ve never seen my dad and uncle cry so much at the private service.

I will never forget the day when I walked through the door of my house at 7 years old, and got my heart absolutely broken. I never thought that that day would be the last day with, what I thought at the time, my best friends for life. As I walked through the door I can remember my mom say, “Bria, today was your last day at this school. We are moving to Sullivan.” When I heard those words come out of her mouth tears began to rush down my face. I never thought I would be able to make lifelong friends again, I would be unquestionably lost. This day is probably one of the most important days of my life. When we began to move I started to realize that I get to start over, and create a new me at a new place.

Though some may say, myself included, that the death of a family member is one of the hardest, toughest, traumatic things to deal with, it also comes with a good side. That good side is that it brings people together to not only mourn over a loss, but to celebrate the life of someone great. One can either sink from a situation like this, or one can rise. I feel like my family and I chose to rise from this. We were all changed in so many ways. My grandma, Veronica, was especially changed the most. She and my granddad did absolutely everything together. They

Losing my grandmother was one of the worst things that have happened to me. When she died, I knew my life had changed. I watched her take her last breath in the hospital and it was very heartbreaking. She was like my second mom because she was always with me. I didn’t think it would come so soon. Dealing with her death was one of the hardest thing that I’ve ever had to do. It was very hard because it was my second experience of losing someone very close to me around the same time of the year. I had to learn how to cope with losing her. I let all my emotions out, I didn’t listen to what anyone was saying, and I had to remember to take care of myself. Losing my grandmother changed me because she did everything for me. I had to grow up and be more responsible. I had to learn how

My grandpa was diagnosed with stage-four lung cancer when I was in eighth grade. It came as a shock to our whole family, because all his life he had been the spitting image of health. Tan skin, only in his mid-sixties, physically fit and a full head of silver hair. He was always out fishing or working at his remodeling job with my dad. He was kind, and the only family member I have ever had that came visit more than once a week, the only one to genuinely care about my family and his grandchildren so much. I never saw him like a grandfather, because grandfathers are often portrayed as friendly but old, as someone you have to look after. He was never that way. I saw him as someone who looked after me and I could have fun with. Maybe that’s why it was so unbelievable when he got sick so quickly.

My family was one of the typical South American families in which almost everybody lives in a single house. We used to live with my uncles, aunts, grandparents, and nephews. At that time my family did not have much money, my family was going through an economic crisis. Eventually my grandfather died. I actually never saw him in person, because I was not yet born. I was told that the death of my grandfather was devastating for the family, it was very painful. Every day that passed without him it was like a stab to the heart. My grandfather died of cancer, a disease that figures among the leading causes of death worldwide, accounting for 8.2 million deaths in 2012. It is expected that annual cancer cases will rise from 14 million in 2012 to 22 within the next two decades ("Cancer").