Influences in My Life

My grandfather is definitely one of the most influential people in my life. He is my mom's father and thankfully, I still have him in my life. He is 95 years old and unfortunately has Alzheimer's. Ever since he had Alzheimer's, it has been a tough ride for my entire family. My mom has seven other siblings and both of my grandparents have successfully managed to bring all eight children to America from another country, legally of course. My grandpa got a high-paying job right when he moved to America and he was able to provide for his huge family. Everyone ended up in a great place, and my family did not have to go through the struggles that many other families did have to go through during this time period, especially immigrants.Visibly seeing a person you love basically fade away and turn into something that they were not before, is a terribly sad sight. I knew the Eddie that I once had in my life, and he was such an important role model in my life. The fact that he does not know who I am anymore is really sad and has made me think about a lot of things in my life. One thing this has taught me is to value and cherish every moment I have with people and to truly appreciate what they have done for others. I constantly think about things from multiple perspectives, and I thought of how hard it must have been for my grandpa to achieve everything that he achieved. I am so proud to call him my grandpa, and sadly the only thing I can do now is cherish what is left of him. I love him so much and a lot can be learned from a man like him. I have learned to appreciate everything that I have and to simply take things as they are. Changing what you are given signifies taking what you have for granted and I avoid that in my life. This situation with a grandfather who has Alzheimer's and does not recall much from the past, including memories that we shared and who certain people are, has contributed to my identity and the ideas that I stand for.