Eulogy For A Father's Father

You are never one to be reckoned with, not even as a child. In fact, your first memory of ever getting into any trouble ran back to your third grade year in school. Nine years old and already so full of life - and a strong sense of justice. Out of the corner of your eye in the hallway, a group of boys were laughing and talking among themselves when you heard your sister's name. To this day, you can't remember exactly what it was that the boy had muttered, but what you do remember is the feeling of satisfaction when your tiny fist met his face - and the lecture you received from the principal and the boy's father.

Of course, your parents weren't all too bothered. They'd taught you to stand up for yourself no matter the consequences, and you wouldn't forget that for a minute. That wasn't the first lesson they'd taught you, but it was the one you most carried with you. Other things seemed less important - making your presence and your strength known was your first priority time and time again.
Your relationship with your father had always been a little complicated.
Though, never was that more apparent than when he and your mother divorced, and you and your half-sister were left to choose between two parents. As you’d always been a bit of a daddy’s girl, you choose to establish a homestead with him at thirteen years in old in a penthouse apartment. It had always been obvious to you that he didn't have a clue of what to do with you, but he tried enough (and paid his way enough) for it to never really make you resent
him.

Along with your strong need to be independent, you inherited your father's bull-headed, stubborn attitude. There wasn't - and isn't - a day that goes by where you're not working to prove yourself to whoever will listen. Working through to the top of your high school's talented and gifted was a good start, but regardless of how well you did and what goals you achieved, you always wanted more.

As a result of your ambition, though, morality wasn’t always in your favor. Admittedly, you’ve been a little greedy, even a little manipulative at times. However, you always managed to justify it with one undisputed truth - the truth your father’s poor parenting skills had taught you. That no matter what, you were the only person that would stand by you in the end - and you couldn't let yourself forget that in any endeavor.

After high school, you spent the summer before college trying to gain a sense of direction again. You’d spent so much time focused on the here and now - getting ahead in high school both socially and academically that you hadn’t spent much time thinking about what you actually wanted to do with yourself when all was said and done. The gap year you took trying to figure it all out for yourself moved quickly - and you were left with one choice: going in blind.

Despite how most people felt about going into university with no major - you didn’t flinch at the idea. You knew that whatever it was, you would conquer it the same way you’d put yourself at the top in high school. It was a year of switching between vastly different subjects before you came to the conclusion that what was best for you was doing something you actually liked, something you’d considered a hobby for the majority of your life.

You’d been dancing since you were three years old, only then it was ballet