TEEN ESSAY: Priceless time with grandma gives life perspective

<p>I often wonder why people seem to find a need to express extreme hatred toward the life they live.</p><p>Hearing so many people talking about their lives in such a way, ranting about how they can't stand their grandparents, complaining because they don't have things they want and simply speaking with dissatisfaction makes me reflect on my own life.</p><p>Should I be complaining I don't have the newest and greatest products trending on today's market, or should I just be happy that I'm here on earth living and breathing, getting the chance to experience everything that life throws at me, knowing that it will make me stronger in the end?</p><p>Ever since Jan. 8, 2010, I've looked at my life from a different point of view because that morning I lost someone that meant the world to me. I lost my best friend, my grandma.</p><p>From hearing about other people's relationships with their grandparents, I realized my grandma, who my sisters and I called "Meme," wasn't only a grandma in my life. The memories of time spent with one another stay strong in my heart. Venturing to her favorite getaway on the coast of Maine to walk along the shore searching for sand dollars, making trips to Dunkin' Donuts up the street from her house to satisfy the craving for a daily dose of Munchkins and visiting the Longhorn Steak House where she knew most of the waiters and waitresses by name, as well as various other adventures we did together, always make me smile.</p><p>There was never a time that I wasn't happy around her. The smile and energy she managed to bring to her loved ones' lives each and every day while hiding the fact that she was courageously battling with cancer inspire me to look at life with a different, more positive attitude.</p><p>At the end of summer 2009, my Mom and I flew to New Hampshire where my grandma lived to bring her to California to live with us because she had reached the point in her life where she needed more assistance. A couple of nights after we arrived on the East Coast, Meme experienced some pain in her chest, resulting in a trip to the hospital. The breast cancer that metastasized to her bones also metastasized to her brain. The likelihood that we were going to be able to move her West was looking doubtful, but with the amazing doctors and the determination to be California-bound, we still made it to our flight with my grandma on board. The exhausting week of spending our days by Meme's side and staying up until 11 or 12 at night packing up her belongings made our arrival in California a big sigh of relief. Although my very independent grandma may not have admitted it at first, when she arrived to her new home and bedroom to see it freshly painted to match her house in New Hampshire, the deep breath she took when she sat down on her bed was priceless.</p><p>Although saying goodbye to Meme was a struggle for me and my family, her spirit lives on in all of the positive memories we have of those past 16 years we spent with each other. My grandma was my inspiration; I want to be just like her when I grow up. I want to say "that was fun" just like she did when her time with us was coming to a close. I would give anything to see her again, but this is not a goodbye. It's just a see-you-later, love-you-Memers. Not a day goes by that I don't think of you.</p>