Personal Narrative: My Grandfather Changed My Life

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
education of his children. And that’s exactly what he did. From that point on, the ideals of the Shibata family began.
From the ideals of his father, my father was raised to be a great man. Hardworking, diligent, determined, and motivated he never complained. Because of the opportunities given to him and hard work, my father went to a prestigious university and now is one of the top mechanical engineers at Hewlett-Packard. My family have established a high bar for success to which everyone expects the same from me. But I find it challenging to keep up.
When I was little everything was easy for me.
Nothing seemed to be a challenge. I found it easy to accomplish things. I got this false sense of reality, that you didn’t have to work that hard to be successful. I entered into high school overconfident and unprepared. And I was hit with the reality that it took more effort than I cared to put in to get good grades. When I was really motivated and interested I did well. At the same time my family was dealing with serious health issues with my mother. The proud, caring, loving, and nurturing mother I knew started to fade away. Since there is no diagnosis from my mom, she is seriously ill with a life-threatening condition, I have no idea what my future holds. This motivates me know even further to take advantages of what life has, and push my limits towards success.
Just like my family, I have my own challenges and struggles I have to deal with. After learning what my heritage and family has accomplished, I think I can work through my own challenges. It has taken me long time, but I think I have started to figure things out. I understand the effort needed to become
successful.