Who Impacted Me the Most

When I was younger, the one person I always wanted to be like was my grandfather. He had everything I always wanted. He had loyalty, hope, faith, compassion, and most of all love. He moved to Lake Tahoe, California with my mother, aunt, uncle, and grandmother. They had very little money and all my grandfather wanted to do was m support his family and give his children whatever they dreamed of. He craved happiness and wanted to succeed in life. When he moved in to his cozy two bedroom, one bathroom house he new that it would take a lot of hard work to provide what his family needed. He decided to build onto the house with his bare hands. He created another room, bathroom, laundry room, and another garage. He started to work as a butcher in a local supermarket. My mother would tell me stories all the time of her life with him when she was growing up. She would talk about there close relationship and I would talk about how much I love him and how he would teach me about life and how to grow up to be a good person. Since my grandfather grew up in Switzerland he had this very thick accent, which made it hard to understand him when I was smaller. As I got older I began to understand his English very well and he would teach me how to play cards and that if you want to succeed in this world you have to be honest, loyal, and a hard worker. He would always tell me to be myself and never let anyone make you change. When he past away in 6th grade I was crushed. My life felt like it was going up into flames. My mother was falling apart and I felt like I had to keep it together. Since I was extremely private back then it was very difficult for me to put how I was feeling into words. It was even difficult for me talk to my best friend about what I was going through. My grandfather had a huge impact on me. My mother tells me everyday I am becoming more and more like him and that he would be proud of how I am growing up. When I went to his funeral I felt confused and lost. I had no idea who half the people were and I was standing in a corner by myself while people would come over to greet me and pay there respects. I would stand there and say thank you, but felt out of place and awkward. My mother told me a few days before that I should be nice and greet everyone with a smile and talk to them a little, but I couldn’t stand being fake nice when I felt alone and depressed inside. I ran to the bathroom and stayed in there for a while hoping to avoid some more people. I thought about my grandfather and how he would hate having everyone here. He never wanted some sad memorial service I knew him better than anyone and he would never want people being sad he is gone. They would just want them to be “celebrating his life”. My grandfather in his words said “ I don’t do sad”. My grandfather is a big part of me and will always be a big part of me he has been my remodel for as long as I can remember and will always be the most important person in my life. He has taught me the most valuable things in life and will remain my hero.