James Abenante Jr.

In life there is always going to be that one person that you are astonished by. I really respect and look up to one particular individual. For me, this one person is my Uncle Jimmy. There are many reasons why he is my hero. I have a very high opinion of him as a person. I love his positive attitude and his positive outlook on things. He even always finds something positive about the negative things. He is a wonderful person even after being through so much. I’d like to share with you my story about my amazing uncle, James Abenante. He is truly a brave, caring, intelligent and loving human being.

My uncle has been through so much in life and still continues to move on with a positive attitude. He was in an explosion which caused terrible scars all over his body. This happened because he and his friends were out trying to help an old lady with a propane leak and someone accidentally dropped a match and it blew up. He was rushed to the Emergency room and they tried so hard to save him. I’ll never forget that bad memory as we all sat patiently waiting in the waiting room. We were only praying and hoping for the best. The nurses told us all that the machine stopped and he had passed but then it suddenly started up again. He even remembers, he had said, “I saw a light. It was almost like a sign.” Only about 3 out of 5 people survived that day. My uncle’s skin is so tight and dry from being in the fire and he is constantly in and out of surgery. After almost losing his life, he still gets up everyday and continues to move on with a positive attitude.

An explosion (www.google.com)

I look up to him because of all he has done for people. Growing up in the Bronx N.Y he wasn’t so much of a well-behaved teenager. He did all of the things your parents tell you not to do. He was always in trouble, arrested, stealing and doing bad things. After this terrible explosion he was in, it basically changed his life. He realized that he was lucky God gave him another chance to move on and basically start over new. God gave him the chance to be a better person. From that day on, my uncle is constantly telling others that you don’t need that second chance in life to be a good person and set goals for yourself. You don’t need to almost lose your life to do good and make the right decisions. Not only that, but he is forever helping me with my schoolwork. He has helped me overcome problems, and he helps me feel better, and he has helped my family and me with giving out money as well. My uncle is always there for people when they need him.

I definitely admire my uncle for many reasons. I look up to him and I listen to all of the good advice that he gives me. He has made many differences in my life because if it wasn’t for him then I wouldn’t be where I am right now because he has helped me get through a lot of hard times. For example when my grandmother died I was devastated and he was one of the people that was there to tell me it was going to be O.K. My uncle is always there for my family and me and tries his best to make peace and help everyone get along. He was the one that told me that you don’t need to go through all he has gone through to realize that you should live your life to the fullest and not have a lot of regrets. My uncle would explain to me all of what he has done and then he would sit there and tell me what he has been through and why he decided to change his ways. He would tell me not to start out life the way he did because he learned the hard way and he doesn’t want me to be the same.

As you can see, m uncle means a lot to me and I care about him for all of the things he has done. He has helped me get through bad times and make them good. My uncle has helped me keep a positive attitude, be more respectful toward people, and to live life to the fullest. He has taught me not to become a waste of life and actually become something. My uncle gives me advice from experiences of what he has been through. He always says, “you want to be like me and learn the hard way?” and that is what always makes me try harder because I realize how lucky I am sometimes. No matter what happens, my uncle will always be in my heart and I will never forget all of the kind things he has done for people.