Father Figure by Stephaney E.
Growing up I was never really close to my dad, so my grandfather became the
father figure in my life. He became the person that I relied on for many things within my
life and the person I look up to most in life. He became my best friend and my number
one supporter when it comes to anything I do.
I believe that good memories can help overlook the bad. I used to wait on my
mom’s porch steps for my dad to come to pick me up, but usually, he wouldn’t show up and
would make excuses as to why he wasn’t coming. So my mom would call my pap and
he would take me out and we would go shopping, run errands, or go get ice cream at
the local mill shop in town. My dad only ever came to my sports games when he was
told he had to go by my mom but my pap was at every game cheering me on or yelling
at me to get my head in the game. He was my own personal sideline coach and
cheerleader. You can always see him wearing my number and name on the back of his
hoodies and shirts along with his own custom Juniata college hoodie that he calls his
outing hoodie.
I believe that no matter what, there is always going to be someone by your side.
My pap was always there when I needed someone to talk to or just a shoulder to cry on
when I'm sad. He is the person who holds all my secrets and struggles, and he helps
me and teaches me how to overcome them every day. He has also taught me how to
drive, and how to manage my checking accounts. He even took me on my college tours
and taught me how to cook even if it’s just a little bit. He tries to do the best that he can
to be the father figure that I need in my life.
As I look back on all the memories made by both my dad and pap, it helps me to
realize that it’s better to remember the good times and not to hold on to the bad ones or
else it will just consume you. It took me a while to really truly let go of all the bad in my
life but I try to overlook it every day and not think about it.
Now that he is getting older I call him every day to make sure he’s ok and I try to
stop in and visit him once a week. I try to look over him as much as he did to me when I
was younger and even now he’s still looking over me whether it be with sports, school,
or even just my well-being.
