My freshman year of college, I experienced lots of life changes. Naturally there were several involving moving away from home, becoming a music major, making friends, etc., but two life events that changed me in unexpected ways were when I took a "first year experience" class about creative story telling, and when my grandfather unexpectedly passed away. My grandfather passed away quickly and peacefully, and it was quite a shock to my entire family. Another thing that surprised me was the love and support I got from my kindhearted creative storytelling teacher. The weekend after the funeral, I had to tie the two things together at a small storytelling slam my teacher took us to on a field trip where the theme of the night was "life lessons."

Life lessons. I've learned a lot in life, and have lots of stories I can tell about them. I chose to tell a favorite story/memory I had of my grandfather from when I was about six years old. I wanted to run down an escalator to try and beat an elevator my mother was in at the zoo, and although my grandfather warned me against doing it, I did it anyway. I naturally tumbled down the entire escalator right into the frightened arms of my aunt and mother, and my grandfather casually rode down the escalator holding my brother's hand and just said "I told you not to run down the escalator" when he reached the ground. Looking back, this story makes my entire family laugh and my grandfather would blush because he felt bad. My grandfather was full of everyday wisdom like "don't run down an escalator" and full of love. He would always have a pack of my favorite diet Snapple iced teas at his house for me when I would come to visit, would drive an hour and a half to see my family, because he was "just in the neighborhood", and made a point to see as many of my performances in musicals as he could. My grandfather was not a rich man, but he was an extremely talented painter, could fix anything at all, and never forgot to call us and sing on our birthdays.

Looking back at his 92 years of life, my grandfather did a lot. He never let his age define him, and would always amaze us with the stuff he was doing was old as he was. He would always be out and about, and always kept busy doing fun things. He traveled to all the fifty states, had the finest collection of bear figurines and Native American artifacts that I had ever seen, faithfully watched almost every Steeler's game, went to Florida almost every winter for a vacation, served his country as an army nurse, and raised/helped raise 4 children, 7 grandchildren, and 3 great-grandchildren who he loved dearly.

As I recall his life, I realize that there are lots of aspects of him that I admire, and I wish I was able to tell him. He always seemed to have a good attitude, and even when he was feeling glum, he would still have a smile on his face and a funny story to tell about whatever mischief he and his friend LaVerta had gotten into since we had last seen him. His life was a fairly simple one, he lived in a smaller house in the Pittsburgh suburbs, supported his family by working at General Motors, and if he wasn't going out to eat like he loved doing, he probably had a deli sandwich for lunch or something his neighbor, Donna, had made him. He was an extremely strong man. His wife died too young due to cancer, and after he had his time of grief, he kept going and never let it weigh him down. No kind of sadness, stress, frustration, etc. would keep my grandfather from doing what he loved and living the life he wanted.

My grandfather proved that you don't need a college degree to be full of wisdom, you just need to live. He proved that no matter how much pain is in your life, you can love with all of your heart. Even if you aren't rich in money, you can still be rich with happiness, optimism, and spread your joy like money. I traveled to Italy this summer, and while I was there, I thought about all of the things I would have told my grandfather about the trip. I think he would have been proud that I was following my dreams and traveling the world, just like he loved to do. I think about him when I am with my mother, his daughter, and how his love for everyone lives on in her, and how strong she has been since he passed. My family and I laugh at the stories we tell about him, and treasure the memories we have.

My grandfather's life was a long and beautiful story, and is now part of my story. There were some sad chapters in it, but overall it was a happy story with a happy ending because I know he is in a better place with his wife, his parents, and his siblings. I know that he would be happy with the way his story turned out, and if I could see him again, I would tell him how much I loved it. And I think he would be satisfied with the parts of my life story that he was a part of. I love and miss you Grandpa, and I hope that someday, my life story will be as wonderful as your's was.