How My Grandfather Changed My Life

He never lived the easy life that most of us live. The life of fancy phones, internet, fuel-injected cars and money. My grandfather had what he wanted. His family, a home, clothes, and a job. For his entire life he had worked to get to the point where he is today. He used to work in the orchards. For the beginning of my life I would remember him as a giant. A giant who would tower over me and my dad. He would normally smell of engine oil, cut grass or plants. Something you would find outdoors. What I would define as a working man, that is him. I remember how he would pick me up and throw me in the air, this giant working man. From his early teens, he left school and went to work. During his middle age, he applied for American citizenship and sought work in America. All the way up to his later years, he worked. A routine life of waking up before the sun rises, heading to the orchards for backbreaking labor in harsh conditions, day after day. Month after month. Year after year. Decade after decade. Without an education, he was unable to climb

I would hardly try and wouldn't care what scores I got. I really didn't care for an education. My grandfather taught me that education is everything. If I want to live a better life later on, I have to put in more of an effort in school. Too many people these days drop out and get stuck in dead end jobs or just don't make enough money. They fail to understand the potential of an education. You wouldn't see me hogging books or eliminating my free time completely, but I started to focus more, and pay attention in classes. My literacy developed faster than in any other point in my life. I'm not a bookworm by any means, but I understand the importance of literacy and the effect it can have on our lives. I hope for people to understand that literacy and an education are not to be taken for granted. They are opportunities that aren't offered to everyone, they can keep you out of the