On March 27^th, 2017, I lost my great-grandmother. She was someone I saw nearly every day for the first eighteen years of my life and someone I loved dearly. Coping with the loss of her has been difficult. I’ve never really experienced death of someone I was extremely close to so this has been a shock. However, I’m beginning to cope, and by doing so I’ve tried to remember all that she’s blessed me with. This article is dedicated to my great-grandmother, Alice, and all that she’s done for me and the countless other lives she has touched.

Thank you for always believing in me. Every time I’d come home from breaks you’d always be so supportive of my academic progress. It’s hard to find support in college and I knew I’d always have you rooting for me. It’s your encouragement that will keep me pushing through these next two years.

Thank you for sharing your stories. You were so full of wisdom and experience. Your stories would open up my eyes, make me laugh, give me a wider perspective of the world.

Thank you for your love. You loved me a lot and it was clear. You cared so much about me and so many others. I’ve never met someone who geinuenly cared about the well-being of so many people.

Thank you for give me inspiration to live a long and healthy life. Ninety-eight years is a long time. I want to live a life full of memories after seeing the life you lived.

Thank you for bringing such a large, wonderful family into this world. You had nine children, which brought numerous grandchildren, great-grandchildren, even great-great grandchildren. You have a large family full of people who are choosing numerous different paths in this world. Because of you, so many people now have life.

Thank you for teaching me to keep pushing through the pain. This is one lesson I have learned since you passed. Going on knowing you are no longer back home, waiting on me to walk in the door with my loud mouth and surprise you, brings me to tears time and time again. But through this pain I have learned to be strong and to keep pushing. Thank you for helping me realize my strength when I needed it most.

Thank you for watching me grow up. You went through a lot in your ninety-eight years, yet you always managed to beat it. You saw nearly twenty years of my life and I’m glad you were there every step of the way.

Thank you for being yourself. You were always who you were at your core – a blunt, funny, yet kind woman. You never hid who you were or what you believed in. I aspire to be as confident in my choices one day as you always were.

Most importantly, thank you for being such a major part of my life. Words can’t begin to describe how broken I’ve been lately, but a heart that’s broke is a heart that’s been loved. You were a key part of my life and I know I will take everything you taught me and apply it to every aspect of the rest of my life. Thank you for everything. I love you.