This I Believe

My dad is a model for me. He taught me a lot and was by far the biggest influence on who I am today. He taught me that life is based on beliefs. If you don’t believe in yourself, you won’t succeed in life. My dad believes in me even more than I do. Thanks to him, I have learned to believe in many things. Some of them help me get through hard times. One of my most important beliefs is that you should always leave loved ones with loving words. It may be the last time you see them. This belief started to make sense to me when I was thirteen years old. If I could return to the past, I would do something that I unfortunately didn’t do at the time. I would leave my grandmother with loving words. Three years ago, on February 23rd, my team and I were heading to Arizona for a soccer tournament. I was really excited because we were playing on the weekend, and we had off for the rest of the week. My mom called me after my last game and gave me the hardest news I’ve ever heard. She told me that my grandmother, had cancer, had passed away the night after I left home. I immediately realized that I had not taken the time to tell her how much I loved her. My grandmother was an exceptional person. She was always smiling and ready to help anybody who would need her help. I miss her cheering me on the side line when I was playing soccer. I miss those mornings when she was preparing my breakfast and a hot chocolate when it was cold outside. I miss those Christmas when she was dancing, even if she was 60 years old. My grandmother meant a lot to me, and I head to Arizona without telling her anything. Even today, I still regret leaving her without any loving words. That is why you must always leave loved ones with loving words. Learn from my mistakes, and tell people how much you love them because nobody knows when destiny would take away the people who matter the most to you.