I always thought that there would be enough time to just talk to him later.
When later came, I would give anything to spend another hour with him, but then again, how would I be able to share an entire lifetime of struggles, successes, wins, and losses with someone who only lived to see me reach freshman year? Losing my role model made me think differently about him. It made me reflect. It made me think about the way I treat others and how he taught me how to be a better person.
All my life, my grandpa had done everything he possibly could for his family. He loved helping people and seeing the gratitude in their expressions and in their words because, to him, it meant that he made someone's day better. The only thing that he wanted to do was spend time with his family.
In middle school, on Wednesdays, he would pick my grandma and I up and we would go back to the house on Maryland Ave, which always had its door open. It was a place I always knew I could go if I ever needed to talk to him or my grandma. It was a place where I could come if I wanted dinner, watch the baseball game, or even just talk about school and my life. Though I never did such things because I had friends on the same block who I would rather play basketball with.
All this time, I may have taken him for granted, but looking back now, he taught me so many important life lessons. The biggest lesson I learned from him is to have Big Ears. No matter the circumstances, whether it was an argument or talking about someone else, he always listened before speaking. He would never talk over anyone because he knew his deafening silence was much louder than anything that he could say.
From the day that I lost him, he made me think differently about how I treat others. I realize now that even when I may not agree with someone, or someone just needs to be heard, I made a promise to him that I will always keep my “Big Ears” on and be willing to listen. When things matter most to the people around me, I know that the best thing they can receive from me is that they know I will listen. There has not been anything more beneficial in my life than knowing that someone who I care about can talk to me knowing that I will listen. Every day, I cherish all the relationships I have built and being that person people want to be around.
I believe that listening can be one of the greatest gifts to give to someone. I can thank my grandpa for teaching me to wear Big Ears just like him.
