Jasmine
February 29, 2004
Expos 9

Personal Narrative: You are Just Like Me

            "Tou mesleh mane," is Persian for you are just like me. My grandma used to always say this to me. I felt like I was her favorite whenever she would say this. Whenever I would hug her, her eyes would light up and her smile would look would be so big like one of those smiles on Crest toothpaste commercials. My dad told me how important it was when she would say this. She wouldn't say it to anyone else except me. I never realized what an honor it was to be just like her. She was so wise and wonderful. She was the one to hold my family all together through the tough times. She was the strongest roots of my family. On the day she died, I realized how much that meant to me. It made me want to be more Persian than I was. It made me want to have a closer relationship to my dad and to better understand the culture.
            Our relationship was very close. She lived in Forest Hills, so I would come with the rest of my family whenever I could. My Grandma was the best cook. I remember waiting for her to finish making a meal. Waiting was the worst part. The smell of food got to every inch of her apartment. The smell of it was so wonderful and would just make your mouth water. We used to play backgammon together. When I was younger, I didn't know how to play, so I would just roll the dice and she would move the pieces for me. Somehow I always ended up winning. My Grandma was 93 years old. However, for the last couple of years, she was in very bad condition. So I believe it was her time to go. Two days after my Grandmother had died, my aunt, uncle, cousin and I had wrote our own speeches which we were to say at a temple in front of which seemed to be every Persian person in the world. My Grandmother was so friendly and did so much for others. She put other people before her self. The speech I had made that night made my father so proud of me.
            Before my Grandmother's death last summer, I'd say that my father and I's relationship was good. But we never really had such great conversations as we do now. We have a sort of connection that no one else in my family has. We spend more time together, and we are both there for each other. We still reminisce about my Grandmother.