Growing up, I have always been the closest with my grandma. I can’t remember much from my childhood but 90 percent of what I do involves her. To this day, the first person I go to is my grandma and I don’t think that’ll ever change. If you also have this experience, you’ll understand how true these reasons are as to why I’m so lucky to be best friends with my grandma.

I’ve realized over time that I am really just her mini-me.

As I’ve grown older, it becomes more clear to me where I get my quirks from. A lot of who I am is from my parents and even some of my aunts and uncles but I’ve truly realized that the majority is from my grandma. From small OCD habits, to humming, to aspects like the way my hands look or the way we talk. Apparently, it is also pretty obvious for other people as well. My friends will tell me how funny it is to be in the same room as us or to spend an extended amount of time together. Being her mini-me is not only an honor but also a true knowledge of what I’ll hopefully be like when I am older.

I’ve always had a strong support system.

No matter where I’ve been at in life, no matter what state or country I’ve been in or if I’ve been living in the house or not, she has been my strongest support system. This has been in a thousand different ways that vary from everyday communication to financial support to emotional support. Luckily, I have a person in my life that understands me better than I understand myself and I am so thankful to have it be my grandma.

I’ve learned all of the basic necessities like learning how to cook and take care of myself.

Like most grandmas, mine is an amazing cook. All of my life, the majority of my favorite foods have been recipes from her. On holidays, I’ve slowly made more and more dishes as the years have gone on. Not only has she been making sure from an early age that someone will be able to carry on the traditional dishes but also that I’ve been well aware how to cook so it is easier as I get older. All of the little things you’ve never realized that someone actually taught you when you were younger and that you didn’t just miraculously learned by yourself were also from her. Now, I think about the way I prepare food or the way I do laundry as just a reflection of my grandma.

I’ve found the true meaning of love.

Usually whenever people talk about love, they talk about the kind of love we see in movies or through relationships. People talk about true love as spending the rest of your life with someone. For me, I think of the true meaning of love as the feeling of complete happiness when thinking or caring for another person. When I think of my grandma I am instantly filled with the happiness and joy that she has brought me my entire life. I know that that feeling will never fade and that we are each other’s persons.