When I got my acceptance letter to Olivet College and we made it official that I was going to become a Comet it was hard for me to realize my grandma was not here to celebrate with us. College is a huge deal. I got in. I was leaving to go away.
It is very hard losing people important to you during a time in your life where everything is coming together and you’re growing as a person. My grandma came to ALL of my events; Soccer, Basketball, Track, Marching Band, Winter Guard, Color Guard, literally EVERYTHING. No matter what the weather was or the fact she lived two hours away from me; she was still there. It meant the world to me to have her at events. It was always settling being able to look in the crowd during breaks and seeing her kind face. Losing that person in the stands made me lose the feeling I got when I played. It suddenly felt like I didn’t have a reason to play. I had to learn how to cope with it.
That was one of the hardest feelings I had to overcome. It messed with my games and performances. It was like I was starting all over again. So, I slowly practiced more and harder to try and get the feeling back. It took a while for me to get there, but I realized that instead of her being there for me I had to play the games and perform for her.
College is supposed to be the “time of your life.” It is very hard not having my grandma celebrate the things I accomplish in school; My scholarship for band, my high grade-point average, becoming Vice President of my Greek organization, and more that will be added to this list as I finish up here at Olivet. I have so many things that I wish she was here to see today. It could be the simplest things; from her seeing me laugh with my friends to her being able to see me graduate. Although she’s not here physically, I know she is here in spirit and is proud of who I have become.