I’m slowly learning to truly appreciate words – each individual letter, the tone, and the overall meaning of each one. The impact of a simple four letter word will take us farther than we may ever realize. Love. A word I constantly took for granted as I heard it nearly everyday from my family. 

That’s my grandpa, my little fireball yet the most selfless person you will ever meet. Facing stomach cancer in 2014, he fought a long battle and ultimately survived with one lung having to be removed. Continuing to grow up, I would often yell at him for staring at me with no explanation, but little did I know his dementia had furthered its progress in overtaking his brain. During COVID when he had received the first and following vaccines, he consistently started to get seizures and thus his health deteriorated very quickly. Soon the sounds of laughter turned into silence and the bottles of Pepsi that filled the fridge were now sitting in the pantry collecting dust. 

As he started to talk less and less, I began to distance myself from him – as if I was in denial of what was happening. I would simply disregard him and work on my homework or go on my phone instead. The mere mention of him would often make me tear up instantly like his name plagued my mind with sadness. Upon conversations I would have about him, I recognized one key detail I had ignored for so many years: It’s okay to mourn, to grief, to feel. 

As Jamie Anderson stated, “Grief is just love with no place to go”. Flashbacks of the times I’ve taken for granted, the times I would get frustrated over nothing, or even the pure sound of his voice all come to mind instantly. By virtue of which his path has taken him down, I have realized that we all take time, people, love, and so many things for granted. I can now only hear my grandpa’s voice through a video. A video. Not once in my life will I ever hear his laugh, his jokes, or even “my beautiful granddaughter” again. 

Now, I don’t tell you all of this to make you sad or bring up old thoughts, but I tell you this as a reminder to always enjoy the things you have, be nice and make the effort. None of our lives are promised a year, day, hour, or even a minute from now. So truly, why waste that time? Look back on life and remember what you did rather than what you didn’t do. You all have so much potential, love, and memories to unlock – so do it and don’t question it.