Earlier this week, I lost one of the strongest, caring and loving women I have ever known. This summer, I was able to travel for the first time in a very long extended time period. I had realized that I had not seen my extended family from my maternal side and never met anyone in my paternal side of my family. During my trip, I had grown closer to my maternal side that I had always known since I was a child, however I had finally the opportunity to get to know my paternal family, aside from an aunt, two uncles and my paternal grandmother. I have gotten to know my father's side in a more depth detailed information. This whole year, I have started to think about preparing to make a family tree that starts from my great grandparents on both sides of my family to keep the history alive for future generations to come. My family is full of many strong, intelligent and beautiful women that empower each other. One of my inspirational women is my maternal grandmother. She taught me how to be strong and fearless no matter where I go. She taught me the way that i should carry myself as a young lady, to dress properly and speak up for myself. My grandmother always spoke up for herself, without thinking about anything twice. She spoke to the rhythm of her own beat without a care in the world and she made sure that her voice was heard, literally. She always said that she would work hard to help others with her kind heart and also do things for people to remember her by. She taught me that whether in good or bad times, you should always be willing to live in the moment. I also learned that it is important to learn other languages to connect with other people of different dialects. She also discussed the true meaning of love, which was to be there and take care of the people that you care about the most. If I could have another moment with my grandmother, I would hug her with all my might and heart, She practically raised me as a child at a young age in Ghana. I will always cherish the times that we spent together and the lessons that I learned along the way. I would say that she has transformed my entire being this year. I feel more confifent and speak my mind as she did because she lived her life with joy and not a care for what other people thought, She used to say, "people think i am a rich woman, but I do not have a dime. Although I felt like I lost a part of my heart when I heard of her passing, I felt my spirit weep inside. I will miss my grandma but I will always keep the memories with me for a lifetime to share with my children.