Juliette, Week 15 - The Stories of Loved Ones

 Growing up, some of my favorite memories have been spent with my grandma: our late nights watching thrillers, her delicious food, and her backyard with plenty of trees and the occasional visitors of deer, turkey, birds, and annoying gophers. Out of everyone in my family, she is probably the person I am the closest with, the person that I feel I can tell anything to and she’ll still react kindly. I lived with her for a few years when I was younger, taking daily adventures in her backyard and helping her around the house, but today it still surprises me how I still manage to learn more and more about someone I consider myself to be close with.

When I was younger she would share her memories of working as a preschool teacher, a flight attendant, and on her major of anthropology after growing up on a farm. She would share about her adventures to Tokyo—exploring the city before her next flight across the world again—and her experiences with different types of children and parents—being amazed at the creativity and ingenuity of them. 


But despite all of the experiences I have learned about her that inspire me to live such an adventurous life as well, I also gradually learn more about the loss she has experienced and how, overcoming all her grief, she still continues to be such a kind and amazing person. 


My grandma has become such an important figure in my life because of her adventure, but beyond that, her resilience inspires me to have the same strength. She lost one of her brothers when she was 14 and the other one when she was 68. She lost her husband in 2008 and her daughter 13 years later in 2021. All of the loss in her life but her continuing to be such a bright, healthy, and caring individual is the most inspiring part about her that exceeds the adventure of her career, and her kind personality is what makes her keep the youthfulness of a teenager despite turning 76 this year.


What I have learned the most from her is that the best part of having a family is connecting with the entire portion of their history, understanding their successes, but also their failures and how they overcame them. I admire my grandma, I always will. Not just for her life, but for her character.


A picture I took the last time I visited by grandma's house

Comments

  1. Avni TewariApril 23, 2025 at 12:18 PM

    Hi Juliette, your memories with your grandparents sound so precious and valuable to your growing. Although I also value my memories similarly, I’ve never viewed it the same way as you have, changing the way we grow up, maybe with the same memories. The way she shares her memories to you is very sweet, and I completely resonate with how much more we learn about their resilience through their life stories.

    For example, I learnt about the struggles that my grandfather went through when he was a doctor in the army. He explained how he was always away from family, and how my mother had to move so frequently. I learnt about my great-grandparents’ activist movements and the different struggles they also went through that my grandmother experienced first-hand.

    There are always generations full of lessons, stories, and struggles that our elders carry with them, and how after learning about it, we carry with pride and dignity, which we will one day give to the next generation. I am very sorry to hear about all your grandmother’s losses, and the way you describe her, I am sure she is a really great person that loves telling you these amazing stories.

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  2. Dionne WongApril 30, 2025 at 8:01 PM

    Hi Juliette, I thought your blog was really heartwarming to read. It’s super cool how you admire your grandmother for her resilience and ability to overcome so many challenges in her life. This is really late, but I’m sorry for the losses you experienced as well. I also lived at my grandma’s house for a few years during quarantine, and being around my wise grandparents definitely shaped my understanding of the world, so I think I can understand a little bit of how you feel when you talk about how so much of what you’ve learned about character comes from your grandma. I really liked how you structured your blog, beginning with the role your grandma plays in your life today, then your history together, her personal experiences, and finally what she has taught you about family in general; I can tell how much gratitude you have for her presence in your life. Thanks for sharing!

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