I do not know how many drafts I have written, nor do I know how many hours I have spent pondering this one essay prompt. “Who are you?” It’s a question we are often asked, but the answer to this question is one that everyone struggles with. To explain what changes not only by days, but by seconds, is a near impossible task. There are so many events that occur during life that changes who we are. It is during these events, however, that our strengths shine through. Although I am a typically more introverted person, there is one key event that has recently occurred that I am not scared to share. My grandparents have raised me for my entire life along with my oldest brother and sister. My mother entrusted me to my grandparents care when I was born because she wasn’t ready for a child. This has always confused me, as I am the third of eight children. I discovered not too long ago that she never wanted to have me, and, through Facebook, she told me she hated me. I never realized how much I yearned for a mother’s love until I realized I would never get it. Thankfully, my grandparents were there for me. They have given me more than I ever could have asked for. I am ashamed to admit it took a lot for me to realize how fortunate I was to be placed in their care. My childhood was blessed, I grew up assuming that my grandparents would always be there for me. Up until last year, they have been the ones taking care of me and helping me move forward. Until one day at the end of my junior year of high school, when my family received possibly the worst news yet. My grandfather has always seemed like the strongest man to me, I thought nothing could make him appear weak, and that’s why it came as such a shock to me when he was diagnosed with ca... ... middle of paper ... ...d onto Azusa’s campus. I felt like I belonged, and it was another moment in my life where I realized that my family extends to those who make me feel supported. APU and the students I met during my stay on campus gave me that support. To me, Azusa Pacific means hope. Hope for my future, hope for a life where I can grow even further in my education and in myself. My grandparents mean the world to me, but they, too, know that I will be living in Azusa coming next Fall. Now it is my chance to give back to my grandparents. For all that they have done for me, it is time I show them that their parenting has paid off. After thirty nine years of parenting, they have earned a break and I know that being able to send me off to college will give them a nice vacation. I am honored to be known as their granddaughter and even prouder to be able to say I will be an alumni at APU.
The story “Adam Robinson Acquires Grandparents and a Little Sister” by Edward P. Jones, published in his collection of short stories All Aunt Hagar’s Children, tells the story of Noah and Maggie Robinson as they take their grandson out of foster care. The story could be said to primarily be about the importance of family bonds, and about establishing and reestablishing them, but it also is very strongly focused on the difficulty in handling and rebuilding a family for grandparents who must take responsibility for their grown children’s children. This very severely stresses Noah and Maggie in ways that impact their expectations about how they would be leading their lives at this phase of their marriage, after having completed their own child rearing and finally reaching a stage where they could focus on their own plans. They now see themselves having to deal with often difficult issues that they had not previously faced while raising their own children. In general, though it seems that grandparents raising their grandchildren in place of the parents is just an un-dramatic variant of the basic function of a family where those parents may sometimes not be available, it can be very stressful on the grandparents, negatively affecting their everyday lives and their enjoyment (Mills, Gomez-Smith and De Leon 194) and upturning life plans (Fitzgerald pp). This is true in spite of the fact that this may ultimately be the far better alternative in this situation (Koh, Rolock and Cross). While having the grandparents raise the children is the better alternative to neglect, abuse or an unstable situation, it is potentially complicated, however, by the behavioral and emotional problems that can often affect children who have been through the ...
My grandmother has a certain look in her eyes when something is troubling her: she stares off in a random direction with a wistful, slightly bemused expression on her face, as if she sees something the rest of us can’t see, knows something that we don’t know. It is in these moments, and these moments alone, that she seems distant from us, like a quiet observer watching from afar, her body present but her mind and heart in a place only she can visit. She never says it, but I know, and deep inside, I think they do as well. She wants to be a part of our world. She wants us to be a part of hers. But we don’t belong. Not anymore. Not my brothers—I don’t think they ever did. Maybe I did—once, a long time ago, but I can’t remember anymore. I love my grandmother. She knows that. I know she does, even if I’m never able to convey it adequately to her in words.
One of my earliest memories of Grandpa begins with us driving to the Monmouth Park Racetrack. We sure did love to go to the track and root for Julie Krone or one of our other favorite jockeys. He loved challenges, and he especially loved the challenge of picking the ponies. He would read the race programs in the Asbury Park Press and usually pre-pick most of the day's favorite horses before ever leaving the house. Still, on arrival, we always bought the program and maybe a race sheet or two before entering the track grandstand. After picking up a couple of seats right around the finish line or maybe a little past it, back to figuring he'd go. As he went, grandpa would always point out the horses that had won recently or looked like they were due. "I have a feeling about this one" he'd say.
It was August 8th of 2013 when my dad got a call from my Aunt Theresa. She urged him to come over to her house because she had devastating news. The car ride to her house was quiet. The weather was gloomy, the sky was filled with dark cumulus clouds.When we pulled up to my Aunt’s house, the adults were organized into a small circle. My uncles were supporting my grandma, however, I thought nothing of it. My parents had told me to go inside because they had a matter to attend to. I went inside to hang out with my cousins. I saw them a couple days before, but the feeling of happiness never subsides when I see them.
Everyone has had that one moment, or maybe a couple. The moment when their life changes forever, the moments when they know they will never be the same person they were yesterday. These moments are turning points that play a large role in a person’s identity.
Imagine having to wake up each day wondering if that day will be the last time you see or speak to your father. Individuals should really find a way to recognize that nothing in life is guaranteed and that they should live every day like it could be there last. This is the story of my father’s battle with cancer and the toll it took on himself and everyone close to him. My father was very young when he was first diagnosed with cancer. Lately, his current health situation is much different than what it was just a few months ago. Nobody was ready for what was about to happen to my dad, and I was not ready to take on so many new responsibilities at such an adolescent age. I quickly learned to look at life much differently than I had. Your roles change when you have a parent who is sick. You suddenly become the caregiver to them, not the other way around.
he presence of illness affects everyone in different ways. My grandfather was diagnosed with a form of dementia in the late fall of 2009 and passed away in the fall of 2016. This drawn out battle with dementia brought out sides of my family members that I did not know existed. I was nine when my grandfather was diagnosed, and unable to fully grasp what was happening to him and why he was not quite the lively, caring grandfather I had always known. I think that the first moment I realized he was sick was in the airport on our way back from visiting my aunt in Washington, D.C. for Thanksgiving.
As a child, family was very important to me. My parents made it very clear that the people in your family are the people that are going to be on your side for the rest of your life. My parents were young when they had me so they needed some extra help. Although they did everything in their power to make sure their work schedules were set so that somebody would always be at home to watch me, that just wasn 't always possible. When in doubt, my granny would always come through. I began to build a very strong bond with her being that she was one of my main care takers. Over the years my parents started to figure things out so they no longer needed grannies help. But this is not what I wanted. Instead of
December 16, 2011 led to a wonderful bond and an unexpected change in my life. My son and his girlfriend were young parents, barely 17 years old, I ended up providing everything my granddaughter needed from the moment she was born. After living with me for 20 months in a moment of rage my son and his girlfriend took my granddaughter in the middle of the night and left without a trace. Typically, a grandparent was the one that spoiled the grandchildren and then sent them home with the parents. Now they have to take on the role of parent when the child’s parents are incapable or disinclined to parent sufficiently (Administration for Children And Familie, Region IV). “According to the 2005 American Communities Survey, there are an estimated 5.7 million grandparents living with grandchildren in their households; 2.4 million co-resident grandparents are the primary caregivers for their grandchildren, representing 42% of all grandparents residing with their grandchildren (Administration for Children And Familie, Region IV).” The reasons grandparents are raising their grandchildren is because of the increase in financial inability, parental drug addictions, and adolescent single mothers.
She said that he had had a stroke the night before. He died in the
I have a lot of cousins; therefore I am not the only grandchild for my grandparents. However, I was the only one that was raised by my grandparents. They spent the most of their times on me compared to my other cousins. For example, I slept with my grandma when I was young. Because of my body was weak, and my hands and feet usually cool all night, my grandma always held my hands and feet to make my body warm. She was told me fairy-tales or real stories at night when I was sick, because she wanted me to feel better. When I was little girl, on the family trip, grandpa always carried me, because he didn’t want me to walk too long. Living without the parent, it made me sad but my grandparents given too much love on
Upon reading the essay prompt, I took a few moments to introspect. I thought back to every experience that helped mold me into the person I am today. As human beings, we are influenced by many aspects of our surroundings. Even as children, we develop certain attributes through observation, or through conditioning by our parents. These attributes may not be always positive, but the combination of both positive and negative qualities form the people we are today. No one is perfect; nevertheless, some are fortunate enough to have their strengths outweigh their weaknesses. I believe I am one of those lucky people.
This paper will give information about the reasons why grandparents are required to take care of grandchildren, positive effects of raising grandchildren, challenges of taking care of grandchildren, and what grandparents can do to help them cope.
Important roles in the lives of children have been directly influenced by their grandparents more profoundly over the past few decades (Dunifon, 2013). As life expectancy extends, grandparents are able to instill their values in their grandchildren. Many researchers have focused on how influential grandparents can actually be within the caregiver role. Dunifon (2013) stated, that grandparents’ involvement when raising their grandchild occurs more commonly when no parent is present in the household, this commonly known as custodial grandparent families (Dunifon, 2013). Custodial grandparents also have many sources of strength.
She said, “I’m a grandmother, my love for you is just like having another daughter.” I realized that she was my biggest supporter and teaching me how to be independent was something she did from the bottom of her heart. She also felt that since my father wasn’t in my life that I deserved to have all the support from family. My mother is a single mom and my grandmother stepped up to the plate and helped where my mom fell short. I will always have the up-most respect for my grandmother because she went over and beyond for me. I felt as though my grandmother did everything out of love and not because she felt obligated to. She hasn’t missed a beat in my life, every school performance, dance recitals, and band performance my grandmother was there. I am forever grateful for everything that she has done and for things that she has yet to