I looked around and I wasn’t in my room anymore, I was in the hospital during my grandpa’s surgery. The waiting room was cold and sterile and the smell of antiseptic was so strong I could taste it. Waves of uneasiness washed over me as if they were trying to drown me. My grandma and my mother were sitting in the room with me and they looked just as scared. I remembered how long my grandpa was in surgery to get his windpipe removed, how I had thought that I wouldn’t make it through the hours he was and that if he didn’t then I wouldn’t make it for much longer afterward.…
As I Easter came upon us, I knew my Grandpa John would be in town. My Grandpa John is 69 years old, and has experienced many different social issues during his life, so I decided to interview him. In his prime, my grandpa served in the military which allowed him to move often around the United States, and the world. I knew he had a lot of experience due to the military, and he was quite the storyteller. I knew it would be easy to talk to him about different social issues throughout his life. As we sat down we talked about many things, but the two ideas that really stuck out to me were the Vietnam War and the Space Race.…
As people continue to age, they will eventually become “elderly” and enter into the later adulthood stage of life. Elderly people have more time to reflect upon their lives and that’s perhaps why they enter into Erickson’s socioemotional ego integrity versus despair stage. Basically, what defines this stage is that old people will either be within ego integrity and have a positive or accepting nature of their life, including mistakes or they will despair and have a negative outlook on their life full of regrets and should haves that can’t be changed (Arnett, 2012). What this means is that most elderly people will be socioemotionally content or fuel potential anguish which can influence their outlook of life as a whole. Arnett goes on to say that “The physical and cognitive problems that become more common in the course of late adulthood…
Growing up in my great grandma’s generation was completely different than growing up in my generation. Back in the day there were not supercenter grocery stores like Wal-Mart, Shop n Save or Sam’s Club for you to go buy your meals. Everything you ate was made from scratch. Why do you think grandmas always the best cooks? Going to grocery stores and restaurants is typically easier and cheaper but cooking homemade meals with your great grandma is priceless.…
My Grandfather never complained. No matter how bad it got, he never said anything. When he was young boy, he was thrown into the brutal and treacherous lifestyle that made up a Japanese internment camp during World War II. Treated like a POW, his life was miserable. When he was released from the camp he had to pick up the pieces that was his life. Everything changed. He was just a young man to make his own in the world. He struggled for jobs, was discriminated against, fought in the Korean War, and yet provided for his brothers and sisters with a smile on his face. He eventually started his own automotive repair company becoming successful. My grandfather became a successful man, attaining everything he wanted except one thing. A college degree. His father wouldn’t let him obtain an education. My grandfather promised himself he wouldn’t limit the…
Everybody wants to age successfully and live forever. But would you really want to live forever if you were not happy and felt alone? My grandmother was born on June 1st, 1920 in Detroit, Illinois. Being one of seven kids, she strived to be independent and immersed herself in music.…
My heart is pounding in my chest as I am in complete awe as I realize that finally she is coming. It is one of the most thrilling events that has ever happened to me in my entire life. I don’t think one can ever be completely ready for what I was about to endure as well as the pain my body was about to be put through. The pain begins to become more alarming as stronger waves of torment flows throughout my body down to the deepest core of my being. I have to say no matter how many books or classes I have taken, nothing could prepare me for what was about to happen next. It is not something that one could ever be mentally qualified for until it is actually happening. Fourteen hours of agonizing discomfort and yet we are still waiting for her to enter into this nonsensical, yet wonderful world. At that moment, I realize once she arrives she will be completely dependent on me.…
Even to this day, I don't know how my grandma had so much love for someone who she could barely remember. Yet, since my grandma's condition was bad I naturally helped out my family with my great grandma. I would bring in and out sodas for her since she had a mad addiction to the fizzy drink, and sometimes I would bring her hot meals. Even though doing all of that was great, my favorite thing to do for her was to keep her company. On the most beautiful of days, we would go out and sit on the neon yellow swing set in front of our house in early afternoons when the leaves were turning a beautiful shade of brown and the weather was just the right temperature. The wind sang alluring songs in your ears as the branches of the lush trees danced to the melody. I can picture it just like it was yesterday. The pond next to us glimmered a light blue color as the swing squeaked in glee. She would sing the same tune each time and i would drift into a world of peace and tranquility where nothing else mattered at that moment. But as a little girl, I took those special moments for granted. I was too oblivious to know that good things don't last forever, they never…
My mother, “Regina Hopkins,” has been a positive influence in my life. She has raised 6 kids all by herself as well as earned a Bachelor’s degree in nursing from a City College in Gainesville, Florida. My mother has been through pretty much everything a person can go through outside of war and was still able to be there and provide for all 6 of her kids. In high school, my mother wanted to play football and couldn't because she was a girl and back-in-the-day women were not allowed to play football with the guys. However, she remained strong by raising 6 kids and independently took care of all of us on her own. My mother has several qualities that I would love to develop. The first quality she has is balance; she certainly knows how to make…
When I was 17 it was 1995, I went on my first real date. We were going to see First Knight. The boy in question was the friend of a friend and I had only ever talked to him on the phone. He said he would pick me up at 7 and we would catch a movie. So far so good. 7 rolls around and he isn't there, he calls and says his Dad is running late so they won't be there till 8. I didn't realize his Dad was driving but whatever, I am withholding judgment. 8:30 they show up and he knocks on my door and I go out to join him. He leans in for a kiss and I lean very far back and awkwardly stick out my hand to shake his hand. He doesn't act like he knows what to do next and he is just staring at his feet and his Dad is staring at us and time just crawls. We finally just painfully walk to the car. It is not immediately apparent where we are going to be sitting. Now, this dude's Dad was HUGE. Not just his weight, but his entire freaking frame. He barely fits in his car. He has the driver's seat all the way back and in the front seat next to him is a cage of living breathing birds. The back seat is really only half a back seat because his Dad is filling so much of the car. I look at my date and look at the car. My date seems to have come to the same realization that there is really only one seat. I squeeze into the backseat while my date squeezes into the front seat with a bird…
With ever story of victory, comes a drowning idea of failure. Throughout our live, these battles are fought, taking not only mental strength, but physical as well. Some of these battles are chosen, while the rest flank from behind. With this in mind, a story of victory must be told, on behalf of my Aunt, Joenell. Her battle took place in April, of 2009, she went to the Suttee Delta hospital, in Antioch California for a doctor’s visit, for fear that something was wrong, during this visit she informed her doctor that she felt a not on her left breast. Soon after, she had a mammogram, and an ultrasound done, revealing three cancerous lumps. As the doctor went into detail, she started to realize the gravity of the situation. For the first time; at the age of 59, she was confronted with the most life threating event she had ever faced. So for a second opinion, she went to the Epic Cancer center, also in Antioch California. Certainly, the last thing anyone would like to hear during a doctor’s visit, she knew there would be some decisions to be made, time to study up.…
After all the ups and downs in my life none of those things stopped me in achieving my dreams in 2012 the year that I received my associates the most emotional moment in my life when I had walked and made my family proud of me. I know it doesn’t seem a lot to many people but to me was the beginning of a very successful life and making a difference in my life and many others. Not only I did this for myself but for my nephews (my brothers kids) to show them that it takes a lot of hard work to achieve for our dreams but anything is possible in life as long as we don’t give up, hopefully inspire them to go far in life. I want to make a change in my family’s lives and make things better for all of us.…
Throughout the years, billions of individuals have inhabited the Earth, each with their own lives and their own particular choices. With every choice made, these individuals have started to compose their legacy, which is the exemplification of who they are and what they have accomplished. I, like the majority of the rest of the world, am starting to leave a legacy as well, and plan to continue and enhance it along the shining stone path known as my life.…
Something that changed me and let me be the person who I am today is friendship. Friends can raise you high above the skies. Or, they can pull you down under the ground.…
When I was younger, I typically received the things I wanted, things such as toys – being that I was an only child – and never worried about hearing the answer, “No”. I had this insane idea that the world revolved around me. Although I still had the concept in my head, that it was all about me when I was informed I would be an older sister, I knew that nothing would be the same. Before I was a sister, I never took anyone else into consideration, and I was never told to do otherwise. I was around four years old, when this news has changed my life forever.…