Wooden 1

Madison Wooden

Prof. Pettay

ENG 111

19 September 2023

My Uncles Love

Prompt : The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success.

Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what

did you learn from the experience?

While packing away all of my belongings, from the only home I’ve ever known, I have

learned a new word. Leading me to a new fate I now knew what the word bereavement meant .

Bereavement is the grief and mourning experience following the death of someone important to

you. While it’s an inevitable part of life, something that virtually all of us go through at some

point. Losing someone I love had to be one of the most painful experiences I'll ever have to

endure.

Five days away from my 17th birthday my mother and I were hit with a devastating

phone call that my uncle had passed early that morning. Maybe it was shock or just the fact that

it just didn't feel real but I showed no emotion. Someone who I’d spent just about all my life with

had just disappeared, it felt like some kind of twisted dream not a reality that would hit my entire

family. Having claimed the title as “The World’s Best Uncle” he was the most chivalrous,

meticulous, kind hearted man I have ever met.

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My uncle's death sent me into a spiraling depression making it so hard to just get out of

bed in the morning or to get up and brush my teeth. This took a toll on my school life, I started

not going to school, going to sleep during class when I was there and even not turning

assignmnets in . Essentially I gave up on everything but after speaking with my therapist and

praying I realized his death sparked something in me. It really allowed me to see who I am and I

finally used all the lessons he had taught me into place.

I crawled myself out of this dark depressive hole showing me how strong I am. Learning

that I am capable of grieving my uncle let me know I was capable of anything. Showing me that

there is real strength in the scary situations I'm put in . His death has also brought me closer to

God and my faith. Putting me on a routine of praying twice a day, going to church every Sunday

and continuing to become the strong, independent, and God fearing young woman my uncle

would have loved to see . Every now and then I can see his big beautiful smile reassuring me that

I'm doing the right thing.

Still missing my uncle, his death has to be one of the hardest challenges I've ever been

through. Knowing that he would be proud of the person he helped mold me to be makes missing

him worthwhile. I know I'll be able to use what he instilled in me moving forward through

college and life.

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