ipl-logo

Personal Narrative: How Death Changed My Life

697 Words3 Pages

Growing up, I’d always thought that death was the worst thing that could ever happen to a person, but it wasn’t until halfway through my sophomore year that I discover the truth. I had never really thought about the horror of watching someone you love wither away into a shadow of their former self; that was something that happened in books and movies, not in real life and definitely not to me.

I was only 15 when my grandmother finally decided that it was time to take my mom up on her offer and come live with us. Her motivation? She knew she didn’t have much time left and wanted to spend her final moments at our house with her family. After about three weeks at our house, she was gone. I had thought that her death would be the most difficult thing for me to deal with, but, in reality, it was the time she spent dying at our house that really …show more content…

In fiction, the dying relative is serene, calm, at peace with their impending demise; they offer pearls of wisdom to the grandchildren and maintain a sort of graceful dignity. Reality is much less glamourous. My grandma was loud, rude, scared, in pain, and sometimes took a couple minutes to remember who I was.

I was absolutely terrified of her, of what she’d become, and of the yawning abyss of death that waited for her. For the first few days after she’d started living with us, I tried my best to avoid her and hide away in my room.

I think the moment I realized I needed to step up was when my mom needed help with my grandma. My dad was at work, like he was most of the time, and so my mom called up the stairs at my brother and I. The two of us looked at each other, and I saw how absolutely petrified he was of going downstairs and even looking at my grandma. I was suddenly very aware of the fact that even though I was only 15, my brother was only

Show More
Related

  • Is3350 Unit 1 Assignment

    886 Words  | 4 Pages

    I was fifteen years old, the night before her death she calls all her friends on the phone with closes friends. The morning before she dies, she didn’t say word to me at all. I went to school like regular normal day laughing at my friend jokes and eating school breakfast. I went to class to class regular routine until I was in my last class science. My sister Stephine came in class crying telling me mom is in hospital.

    Read More

  • Research Paper On Night By Elie Wiesel

    1071 Words  | 5 Pages

    Generally speaking, humans cannot be entirely prepared for dying or the death of a close person in their life. Some people say that facing death gives a person both opportunity to grow mentally and the strength to carry on in life; however, it can be too much to handle alone. Help can be needed not only from relatives and peers, but also from the experts. Strong grieving is more than usual, but life must eventually carry on. Death can be both interesting and frightening at the same time because nobody knows what happens afterwards.

    Read More

  • 1.08 Parenting Skills

    901 Words  | 4 Pages

    I have nothing else to live for.” It can be inferred that the death of an older person is substantially different that the death of a parent because that emotional attachment to the parent has much more meaning than experiencing the death of an older person. Most people may be able to cope within a few months and continue their lives after the death of an older person, but the same may not be true for parental

    Read More

  • Personal Narrative: Time Of Death

    479 Words  | 2 Pages

    ID#513295 who entered the trailer to locate the body and declared time of death at 1934 hours. Roberts did not disturb the body, nor the scene. The deceased was later identified by his Florida Drivers License as William Gilley. I spoke with the property managers Mike Kenny, and Brian Fannon. Kenny advised they received a call from Gilley's boss who grew concerned when he had called out sick and then did not show up for work on 10/22/15 when he was scheduled.

    Read More

  • Perspective Change: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

    527 Words  | 3 Pages

    Perspective Change "Our loyalties must transcend our race, our tribe, our class, and our nation; and this means we must develop a world perspective. " These are the words of the one and only Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a distinguished leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. Perspective change is an important tool when speaking in regards to other people’s feelings, and putting oneself in someone else’s shoes can have a tremendous impact on his/her outlook. My perspective on my mom changed greatly when she and my dad went on vacation for a week and left my brother and me with our grandma.

    Read More

  • My African American Family

    1490 Words  | 6 Pages

    Her passing was a major loss because she was the only person that really loved me she taught me how to cook, we went fishing and we always attended church due to her spiritual beliefs in the lord. Foremost, she taught me how to pray and read the bible. Lastly, we took care of family member’s children and I took care of her in reality and the family member’s children at a young age. She needed me there because she was overweight and had a considerable health issues besides her heart.

    Read More

  • Personal Narrative: The Five Stages Of Grief

    847 Words  | 4 Pages

    Shortly after the doctor said that, her condition got a lot worse from before and she passed away a few months later during the summer. During the wake and the funeral, my Great Uncle was devastated and could not believe that his older sister has died. During this time I tried to remember the time when my family was living with her, but I could not remember besides the fact that she was a very good cook and that in my family, her lasagna and soups were the best thing we have ever

    Read More

  • Personal Narrative: What Really Happen After Death

    1293 Words  | 6 Pages

    “What really happens after you die?” This question passes the mind of the living, no doubt, numerous times in their lifetime. To think about it, even for a moment, gives us a feel of insanity. The answer lies beyond what we can only believe. Perhaps, we may never know what really happens after death until we are dead and in the ground.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Harry Browne's 'The Unselfishness Trap'

    919 Words  | 4 Pages

    Their family will always question whether there was something that they could have done to prevent them from killing themselves. This pain can be so tremendous that it never truly goes away. The family may also feel angry and betrayed that their relative did not just ask for help instead of going to such extremes. There are many more dreadful things that the family has to go through after their loved one is gone. They not only have to do things like arrange their funeral, but they also have to take care of all of their belongings and they are reminded of their loss many times throughout every day.

    Read More

  • Steve Jobs Monologue

    1018 Words  | 5 Pages

    This tells me about his character, that he was determined and worked hard. I know his family was important to him. He was the one who lived until I was four, I got to know him better than my other grandpa. I know that he died in his sleep, I think taht is how I want to go. Painlessly in my

    Read More

  • Family Death Research Paper

    2164 Words  | 9 Pages

    I don’t know a lot about my family origins, especially the details surrounding death. It’s even harder when all of your grandparents are dead, your mom is adopted and never knew a lot about their family either, and a dad that never wants to talk about his past and his family very much. Getting information out of them for this paper was a bit of a task, but I got a lot of interesting information out of them. I interviewed my mom, dad, step-dad, and uncle Gordon for this paper. I knew a lot about the deaths on my mother’s side since we have talked about death before together, but I was delighted to get the opportunity to learn more about the deaths in my dad’s

    Read More

  • Personal Narrative: A Metaphor For Death

    196 Words  | 1 Pages

    I begin with a sunset, as in the poem the sunset is a metaphor for death. I have myself waking up and realizing it was dark as though I am realizing I am close to death. I refuse to accept this getting up and turning on the light. The light is turned off several times and I have to fight to keep it on and keep living. When it stays on l look for what is turning it off I am subsequently chased down the stairs by an ambiguous being or force.

    Read More

  • Negative Reinforcement Analysis

    820 Words  | 4 Pages

    It was on my mind for a week. 4. To keep the answers to this question organized each stage of grief/death will be followed right after by its example: 

    Read More

  • Personal Narrative Essay: Watching My Mother's Death

    1601 Words  | 7 Pages

    I always knew deep down, that my mum was not going to make it; however, knowing this did not make it any easier. She died on December 4th 2008. I could not come to terms with her death. Not only was I left with many questions but I also felt like I should have spent more time with her.

    Read More

  • Personal Narrative: My Grandparent's Eulogy

    1774 Words  | 8 Pages

    And while your friends do their best to sympathize with you, no one understands the sheer desperation that always threatens to bubble over. A dying grandparent means facing my mortality with new eyes.   In the final weeks of my grams illness, I’d often look at my children and worry that my death would burden them in the same way. I worried that the fear and terror I felt in these last months would be their journey someday when their father and I face our health issues.

    Read More

More about Personal Narrative: How Death Changed My Life

Open Document