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Samantha Brau - College Application Essay Final Draft
Samantha Brau - College Application Essay Final Draft
Samantha Brau - College Application Essay Final Draft
Samantha Brau
Mrs. Gagne
Practical Writing
Smiley Flower
I never realized a silly smiley flower would make me want to help find a cure for
My dad always talks about my grandpa Lawrence as an old stubborn man, and how he
took them on vacations in a motorhome across the whole country. Someone who was so friendly,
that he knew everyone in a 50 mile radius. Anytime dad and grandpa went somewhere they
could never leave on time because there was always someone there he knew and would have to
talk to. A true Minnesota goodbye kind of guy. Then he had a stroke and his life was forever
changed.
I never got to meet my grandpa outside of the hospital setting. We never got to
have a conversation because he was able to talk due to his stroke. Grandpa would always want
to thumb wrestle with my brothers and I. He loved to sing and even though he could only hum,
his favorite song was “You are My Sunshine.” Grandpa loved when we took him on walks
around the halls and when our little legs got tired he would let us sit on his lap and sometimes
even control his wheel chair. He had two smiley face flowers wrapped around the handles. I
would always take them off and play with them pretending they were real. When he was in the
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presence of family he always had the biggest smile on his face. Seeing everyone laughing and
I remember my parents telling me my grandpa wasn’t doing so good, I just thought that it
meant he had a headache or something minor like that. The next day we went to see him. His
happy, smiley face had perished. I knew something was wrong, but I was seven and naive. I
though that my grandpa would push through and live to see his grandkids grow up.
The next day I walk upstairs ready to go to school. I looked at my mom and dad and they
were both crying. My heart sank. I knew what it was. My grandpa had passed away. They told us
that morning that he did not make it through the night. I was divested. Never again would I be
able to see his smile, sing with him, or let him win at thumb wrestling.
Later that year we celebrated Easter at my grandma's house and she made us easter
baskets and hid them. When I found my basket my eyes teared up, I saw my grandpa's flower
that was on his wheelchair wrapped around the handle of the basket.
Having my grandpa's flower hanging in my room where I can see it everyday means a lot
to me. It reminds me that life is too unpredictable and unfair, that we need to enjoy each day and
not worry so much about the future. Many people lose loved ones due to strokes, including me. I
want to try and help find a cure for strokes or find a way that we can prevent them. We need to
advocate for ealier detection. The faster a stroke victim is treated, the higher the sucess rate.
Seeing families not be able to talk to their loved ones or worse losing someone to this,
makes me want to help people that have this illnesses. I might not be able to find a cure in my
career, but I sure can give it all I have. If I don’t find a cure along the way; restasure I will be
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helping other’s and their families. That will bring me joy. My grandpa would be so proud of me
bringing people joy and smiles to their face like I did for him.