Abuela's Eulogy

Born November 12, 1933, to a family with nine siblings, my grandmother only earned a third-grade education because her family was too poor and she needed to start working at the age of eight.

As a young mother to two girls, she lost her husband in a motorcycle accident. She now had to figure out how to support her family on her own, on the brink of a communist revolution.

When she recounted these stories to me as a young girl, there was never an ounce of shame in her voice. She was proud of overcoming the difficulties life threw at her, and she did it with her head held high.

My grandmother taught me many things as a child. I wouldn't describe her as a typical cuddly and warm grandmother. She was a woman with many hard edges and caveats that a life of misfortune will bestow upon anyone.

My grandmother taught me to put my education first. At the age of seventy, she would walk over a mile to attend English classes. The handful of times I went with her, I saw how much she stood out. This class was predominately middle-aged immigrants learning English to take their citizenship test. My grandma had no other use for the English language at this late age, besides to quench her thirst for knowledge and make up for the time she lost as a child living in poverty. She constantly asked me how to translate words for her, and even though I sometimes made up gibberish words, I admired how persistent she was.

Another thing my grandmother taught me was stubbornness. Although this may have been passed down genetically, I learned at an early age to never settle for less.

Through her independence, I learned to be resilient in the face of tragedy as she had been many times in life. I learned that I can only rely on myself in life.

My grandma tried to teach me her other skills like sewing and cooking, but she quickly learned that I would rather spend my time reading a book than boiling okra.

My grandmother was my best friend and she had a huge part in raising me, and I can see many aspects of her personality in myself. I always felt that life had been too cruel and too unfair to rob her of a childhood and an education. But she always saw the good in people and knew how to make everyone laugh.

Although I'm not sure what happens when we die or if there is an afterlife, if there is a heaven, I'm certain she's there.