Narrative Essay on My Hero

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On September 4th was the day everyone dreaded but no one would talk about. It was the day we would be forced to say our final goodbyes. As I walked through the door of Our Lady of Peace funeral home, the floral arrangements blurred into a sea of vivid colors. Wiping away my tears, I headed over to casket of my grandpa. His smile seemed to transcend the image on the picture. As people swarmed through the door, I nodded and said all the right things but my mind was a million miles away. When my close relatives arrived, I would not let go of them. I held onto them like a little child holds onto her mama on the first day of kindergarten. When the time came that he was taken into Heaven, my family mourned greatly. Each of us shared our memories with one another to celebrate his life, and watched as he was laid to rest.

Interment services followed at Vicente Limtiaco Cemetery, Nimitz Hill. With heavy rain pouring over us and the six pallbearers, he vanished from our eyes and into a much more welcoming place, away from the troubles of this world as my family has always believed. It was as if all the angels were crying right along with us. That was the longest day of my life.

Through the pieces of his life that remained after he moved on and as I try to cope with his illness and death, I have come to realize the value of dedication and hard work, and how it is through our actions and words that we make this world a better place. Losing him taught me not to take people or things for granted. Life’s too short to worry about the negative things, to be angry, or to be mean to anyone. I’ve learned to see what is truly important. We need to cherish every second of our lives because we’ll never know when our time in this earth is done. I’ll never forget the influence of my grandpa and his life, even after his death, he changed my life.