Emily Johnston

My Hero taken by Melinda Hay  

The definition of the word hero in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary is, “a person admired for achievements and noble qualities; one who shows great courage.” My grandma is an ordinary person who has found the courage to keep going even though she has had a lot of challenges in her life. One of those challenges has been her upbringing because she is the daughter of two immigrant parents who came to Canada from Holland. They did not have any easy time, and her dad had to work three jobs in order to support his ten children.  After twenty-six years of marriage, my grandma and grandpa divorced, which was a difficult time for her. However, she works hard to make sure we have wonderful family traditions, even though there is brokenness in her family. I think that the hardest challenge in her life has been living with cancer. She has had cancer for ten years and she continues to fight this battle. I think the most challenging part for her is that every year or so, she has to take a new drug. This is difficult because she does not know if the drug will work, and she will always worry. My grandma shows great courage in her life through the different challenges she experiences. She is my hero because no matter what is going on in her life, she always tries to be positive and enjoy each day, even if she does not feel good.