Important Person in My Life, Essay Example

Grenada was my birthplace and my home while I was a preschooler. My father died in a boating accident when I was three. My mother decided to migrate to the United States, where we soon lived in New York. A year later, my mother remarried a man who gave me a new name, a stable place to live, and made it possible for me to become a United States citizen. He is the only father I have ever known.

It was tough growing up in Brooklyn. My new father was Jamaican, and, like my mother and I, he too had come to America to lead a better life. He grabbed every opportunity that came his way. My early life was hard. We were poor. My new father had strict rules. I rebelled. One of the things he watched most closely was my friendships. When I got involved with people who did not share his values, my Dad would step in.

My stepfather worked, saved, and made it possible for us to move out of the projects to a new home in a better, safer neighborhood. I laugh when I think about it now, because we were the first African-Americans on our block. My Dad exposed me to diversity, and I thank him for that. If he had not been in my life, guiding me in positive paths and correcting me from negative decisions, I have no idea where I would be today.

My parents’ marriage weakened over the years. One day my mother moved out while I was at school and my father was at work. All I knew to do when I got home that afternoon was to sweep the plies of trash that she had left on the floor. I remember waiting for someone to come and explain to me what was going on. At that moment, I felt quite helpless and alone.

When my stepfather arrived, he and I fell into full-scale shock as we dealt with the reality of it all. Mother was gone, and she was not coming back. We sat on the floor. We talked for hours. We cried. We laughed some. I was scared. I was anxious about the future. It took some time, but he and I regrouped. We shopped for new furniture. We made new memories, but the shock of Mother’s departure turned to an anger that stayed with me for a long, long time. When your Mother has abandoned you, it hurts deeply. There are no words for it, really.

The years rolled along. When I was a senior in high school, Dad and I knew that I had a big decision to make. Was I going to attend college? Was I going to go to work fulltime? Was I going to join the military? Dad and I, together, finally decided that it would be best for me to join the Army. The recruitment officer had told me that the Army would pay for my education. I cannot emphasize enough how big of a decision that was for me. I could not have made it alone, without Dad’s help. I was about to be away from home for the first time. I enlisted for three years. Twenty-one years later, I retired as a Senior Non-Commissioned Officer.

Nothing I have ever accomplished in my life would have ever been possible without the tough love that my Father gave to me. He kept me going in the right direction as he could, and he got me back on track when I made mistakes. As the time drew near for my retirement, I sent out invitations. Dad’s was the first one I mailed. Quickly, he responded that he would be there. After more than two decades of being away from him and two military conflicts abroad, I still received support and advice from him almost daily.

Dad came to the ceremony holding a special gift. In his big Black hands, he had a copy of my 1986 graduation from Basic Training. The intent of this gift was to remind me that he had encouraged me throughout my entire career. He handed it to me. Our eyes met. Not one word passed between us. For those few seconds, time stood still. I remembered the little lost boy who received reassurance from an equally uncertain man that everything was going to be all right if we stuck together. He was right, and I love him.