We've all learned a few life lessons from every single person in our lives. Whether their impact was big or small, they had one and they taught us something. May it be a simple "hello" from a stranger that taught you to be more welcoming to people, or the reiterated "don't touch the stove when it's hot" from our parents that we were told when we were young, everyone learns a few things here and there.
However, it's not everyday that someone impacts your life so heavily and teaches you so many life lessons. For me, my grandma was one of the most amiable, passionate life-lesson givers I've ever met. Throughout my years of life, she taught me a few things that I'll remember forever.
She taught me that even though people get old, the stories never do. If there's one thing I'll never forget about her it's her story-telling persona that came to life every time I went to go visit. Whether it was stories from when she was a kid, when she was in college and her dorm, no joke, had a curfew (or so she said), when she met my grandpa and had all their endless stories and adventures of 6 kids, or even stories from just a few years back, I was always open-eared and ready to make mental note of them. Although she aged, the content of her stories never did. Day by day she surprised me with something new, all the memories she had and decided to share.
She taught me that it's okay to have your own opinions about people. We all do it, it happens to each and every one of us. She taught me that even though people all resonate the same meaning, we all have a different purpose and we're allowed to think what we want of someone else's purpose. Whether it be kind, indifferent, or uncanny, the opinions are always there and although we can ignore them, we mustn't forget that they'll always be there somewhere.
She taught me to strut my style and own it. She was a style queen if I ever knew one and she showed me the ropes of fashion as I know it today. I'll forever look up to the style that she owned. It's not every day that one would get to go to their grandma's and tell her a shirt of hers was cute and she'd offer it off to you as if it meant nothing to her. For me it was like that all the time. A lot of my style comes from her, inspiration and article wise, and I wouldn't want it any other way.
She taught me that some people talk through an entire TV show and you're just going to have to move past it. I mean, of course it's kind of bothersome, but once it's gone you learn that you're just going to have to appreciate it when other people do it. Appreciate their opinions, their words, their thoughts, appreciate what they have to say. Remember it, because the TV show is never as important as what they have to say.
She taught me to be a bargain shopper (okay mom, you too, but for the time being). She'd always get her clothes at a discounted price, cheap and chic. She taught me that name brands are just that: name brands, and that there's so much more to fashion than just them. She taught me that the bargain shopping is the key to life, and as a style-guru, she really hit the jackpot on some of the things she owned.
She taught me to always offer your guests something to eat and drink. I swear, there wasn't a time that I'd go over there and she didn't have something ready for me, or anyone else who was there. Common courtesy, of course, but it's the thought that's put into it that matters.
She taught me to always "listen to your mother." God, the amount of times I heard her say that. But of course, everyone should listen to their mother, and so she wasn't wrong about that.
She taught me that no one's cooking was better than hers. She was always making something, and it never stopped. Though her last few years of life she wasn't as quick to get out and make her daily dinner, rather to have a burger from Burger King or a taco from Taco Bell, I'll never forget how great of a cook she was. Her Thanksgiving stuffing, wow. Everyone deserves to try that at least once in their lives.
She taught me that memories last forever even though people don't. It's hard to lose someone; it never comes easy. But most importantly, the times you shared with them will always be memories you get to have and hold. She taught me to cherish them and to never let them go.
And last but not least, she taught me to cherish the people in your life, day by day, because you never know when your last day with them will be.
