Vanessa shared with me her grandfathers story of his past in order to convey to me the power he has had on her and the way she views life.
"My grandfather has influenced my life tremendously. 204,000 Jews passed through the town of lodz where he came from during World War Two and only 10,000 of those survived. The odds that my grandfather survived was less than 5 percent." I asked if that small percentage has ever struck her or how that slight chance changes her ways of appreciating her papi. "It shows me how I am so lucky that my grandfather survived and it was clearly for a reason." Vanessa believes because her grandfather was so lucky that it is her duty to live life to the fullest, the way he would want her to. " I've learned from my grandfather never to take life for granted because I am so lucky to be here today." |
" My grandfather has taught me that life has meaning and purpose," Her papi surves as a role model to her. She admires all that he does and everything he has been through. An extremely large part of how she views the world and how to live her own life is based on her grandpas expeirences. Whether it is from the stories he has shared with her or the unspoken fact that it is so lucky that he is here today, he has an impact and carries an immense amount of weight in many of her life decisions.
"My grandfather has taught me that life has meaning and purpose. He is here for a reason and it is my job to find that reason and make meaning of my life that I am lucky to have." He shows vanessa that life is short, and to live it to the very fullest. Vanessa is on a gap year now taking advantage of all she can and living a life of contentment and enjoyment. Her papi shows her by the way he has lead his life since he was a young boy that it is always possible to build up from tragedies. " He shows me that no matter how bad or horrible the circumstance we are in, we could always get out of it and rebuild our lives because life is too short and precious not to." |