I grew up on the rural edge of Frankfort near farms and the county over, with my mother, father, and grandmother, Betty Taylor. We have lived in my grandmother’s house, my mother’s childhood home, for my entire life. An upstairs was added to the home when I was born, and my grandmother brought me up with my mother and father, and many more family members as well. I’ve found the old adage “It takes a village to raise a child” to be particularly fitting. But I feel like there have been some particularly important lessons that I have learned from my grandmother over the years. I am who I am today because of her.
Know when to be blunt, and when to hold your tongue.
My grandmother may be a little over 5 feet tall and weigh less than 100 pounds, but what she lacks in size she makes up for twice over in spirit. She has always been one to speak her mind, and to make sure you hear it, too. She always has the best intentions, though being blunt can also lead to hurt feelings. While she doesn’t always practice the second part of this lesson (*ahem* like holding her tongue when she’s handing out criticism), she has taught me to always be honest, to think before I speak, to know when to speak up, and to never be afraid to do so.
Work hard, and have goals you can work toward.
Out of everyone I know, or rather everyone I can think of in the world, my grandma is the hardest working. I am 100 percent certain of this. Even at nearly 75 years old, she cannot sit down for more than half an hour without feeling antsy and eventually finding work around the house. She once told me the story of how she started her career, which impacted me heavily. She is one of 14 children from a very rural area of Keavy, Kentucky. After graduating from high school she sent herself to cosmetology school and then started a job in a salon. She didn’t make much at first, but what she didn’t spend on weekly rent at the Y, or a candy bar to munch on throughout the day (that’s, really, all she would eat), she saved. She wouldn’t touch this extra money, even if it was only $5 dollars a week, and eventually she had saved enough to buy herself a brand new Mustang. She has shown me that through hard work and perseverance, anything is attainable.
Be independent and strong for yourself, as well as your loved ones.
Along with her honesty and spirit, my grandma is such a strong and independent woman. Her husband, my grandfather, died unexpectedly when my mother was about to graduate from high school and, ever since then, she has done everything to keep the backbone of our family strong. Although, even when my grandfather was alive I would still say she was quite an independent lady. She has always told me to work hard and do the best I can for myself because I can’t rely on anyone else to take care of me. Then, you can be strong enough to support your family and loved ones too.
Family ties are the strongest, and most important.
Being one of 14 children, my grandmother obviously learned from a young age that family is important. We have such a large family as a result of this, and I have grown up alongside many cousins, and under the care of many aunts, uncles, great-aunts and great-uncles, and so on. I love them all just like I do my own parents and grandmother, and being an only child made having cousins even more important to me. I am still very close with them, and I cherish any time we get to spend together.
Do what is right, even if it is hard.
There isn’t a day I’ve come home in the evening when the news is not on in the living room with my grandmother perched on the couch watching it. Though my grandmother is getting older, she has not let this make her “set in her ways” as some might say, and she is one of the most progressive thinkers I know. She uses her spunky, tenacious spirit to fight for the changes she and many others hope to see in our country, even if that just means spreading the word through our neighbors and distant family members. She is where I get much of my personality from, and I hope to have as much fervor at her age. She will never cease to do what she can to make progress in our community, country, or world in whatever way that she can, and I will continue to do the same.
