My Grandpa was truly my greatest friend. Living just two minutes away in what feels like my second home made it easy for me to visit my Grandpa. I spent countless days walking through the off-white door to hear the low roar of Yankee Stadium's audience emanating from the small room to the left. Eventually, as I made my way across the rough carpet, white socks covering a pair of feet dangling off the edge of a recliner would come into view. Not long into this process, the television's volume would be replaced by a deep yet excited voice asking, "Alycat is that you?" I knew this as my invitation to get lost in conversation for hours on end.

We bonded over similar interests such as U.S. History to classic literature. My Grandpa's love for life, an incredible sense of humor, and a warm smile allowed him to talk to everyone with such ease. Whenever something new sparked my interest, my Grandpa made sure I had the opportunity to gain all the knowledge regarding it. When my interest in U.S. History began in first grade, he narrated stories through his perspective of historical events during his lifetime and growing up in his old neighborhood, while managing to crack a few jokes at the same time, causing me to wonder why he chose advertising over teaching. He had such a gift for enriching any subject with personal anecdotes and embarking on his own little field trips to historical landmarks.

On days when my mom called to tell me I had to walk home, my Grandpa's gold Cadillac would pull up to change that. After a long, stressful day at school, getting into my Grandpa's car allowed all my problems to subside. He would listen to me talk about my day for the entire car ride to the Dunkin Donuts parking lot: a stop we made every time he took me home. I would get a special drink dubbed by him as a "Latte Grande Supremo" while he would get a small hot chocolate. When doctors discovered in July 2017, cancer had already spread throughout my Grandpa's body. My mind grew overwhelmed with all of our memories. Despite him teaching me how to blow up balloons before my sister's first birthday party, or us dancing to "What a Wonderful World" at my Sweet Sixteen, these Dunkin Donuts trips stood before everything in my mind because they allowed me to spend time just talking to my Grandpa: something I wish I could do one more time.

Unfortunately, after a mere three week battle with his diagnosis, he passed away. As time marched on since the day of his passing, I came to realize that I only lack his presence in physical form. Even as I look to the empty recliner and the powerless television, he lives forever in my mind and heart, guiding me down the right paths and through the right doors. Although it feels robbed, the time I had with him painted an example of how I want to live my life. Our shared love for history made teaching the only career I am interested in pursuing and thanks to him, I know what kind of life to strive towards. I will teach my students with the same passion he taught me with for seventeen years. Even in death, with his voice silenced, his love, guidance, and wisdom has never felt more alive.