Angellina Coats

Professor Beth Cox

RC 1000

September 14, 2022

I was voted a social butterfly in elementary school, however instead of being a leader I

was a follower for much of my childhood. I wasn’t able to recognize any strengths I might have

had in those early stages because I was in tune with others rather than myself. For this reason I

looked up to my family as my guiding path because they were always there to show me who I

could be. My dad is the reason I can turn any situation into a positive one. My mom is the reason

I care so much for others around me. My sister is the reason I am confident and determined to

reach my goals. Apart from every member of my family making an impact on me, my grandma

is the one who helped me discover my strengths, especially in becoming a leader.

My grandma is the strongest person I know and I have the proof to back it up. Even

before I was born she experienced hardships. My mom’s side of the family is from Poland, but

back then Poland was dangerously close to communist rule and my grandparents had to find a

way out. My grandma got physically beaten in order to escape that country back in 1985 and that

by itself takes a different level of strength. Fast forward to 2004 she battled lung cancer and beat

it, but not without the cancer taking one of her lungs away. I couldn’t even imagine living with

one lung and the chance that I might not have ever met my grandma if she didn’t beat it. Despite

the fact that these experiences occurred before I was born she shared them with me and I was

already getting a sense of how strong my grandma could be.

 One of the most difficult hardships that I was present for had to have been when my

grandma was in the hospital for almost 100 days back in 2013. My nine year old self was

completely terrified of the possibilities that could happen to my grandma because there were so

many unknowns. Going through this experience firsthand allowed me to see the true resilience

my grandma has because she made it through like the strong person she’s always been. This

period of time inspired me not only to appreciate life for what it is, but for me to write my

grandma’s story. We had a narrative assignment in my middle school class at the time and I

decided to write in exact detail my experiences in the midst of all the chaos. I was writing things

along the lines of “My face was white as a ghost watching my grandma being pulled out onto

that stretcher” and “I couldn’t believe that I was hearing the doctor tell us she has a 2% survival

rate.” It was so hard for me to write down what horrors my grandma faced like her losing half of

her foot, but taking specific details and putting myself back into that hospital room was a great

way to reflect on such a difficult time. My grandma would continuously tell me how touched she

was with me writing her story. I even inspired her, when she’s the one who inspires me, to start

writing down her experiences and include my story within it!

This narrative assignment was only the beginning of ways in which my grandma has

inspired me. Writing about her story showcased her strength firsthand and also allowed me to

enjoy her presence even more. It opened up a different mindset of finding strength in myself and

helped me discover I had a leadership quality inside me all along. I did color guard and winter

guard all 4 years of high school as it was what I was most passionate about. I would get so hard

on myself with the smallest mistakes all the time because I couldn’t find that strength within me.
My mindset had changed completely when I thought of my grandma. I kept fighting to get good

at what I was falling behind on and pushed myself to achieve goals I didn’t think I could, all

because I knew my grandma did the same thing. I eventually became captain of both teams

during my senior year because I didn’t give up. I was able to help my team get first place in

competitions and become silver medalists at our championship. This was all because I used

strength and determination that my grandma would use in situations much more intense than just

tossing flags in the air. She came to one of my shows during my last season and I remember

seeing the tears roll down her face because of how proud she was of me. Little did she know I

was the one who was proud of her for even getting to where she is today and that I used her

mindset to be a leader for my team.

Looking back on the close encounters my grandma has had throughout her life opened

my eyes up to a new perspective on life. Writing down and talking through traumatic events is

something I continue doing to help myself cope after it worked for that one narrative assignment.

I try to take any opportunity I can get to present myself in a leadership role now that I know I

have the strength to do so. All of these things have been fueled by my grandma. She is the reason

I will never give up in life because I know how much she had to endure to not give up on herself.