What+is+a+Writer+Supposed+to+Be?

Jordan Melander Sep. 17, 2010 Eng.103 Hartman The Grace of a Gift A gift is something that is given voluntarily without payment in return. People give gifts to slow the ones who are most important in their life that they genuinely care about them. When one is given a gift, it shows the significance of what one means to another. A gift is a greater symbol of love when it comes from someone who means so much to you, as well as when it arrives unexpectedly. Diamonds may be a girl’s best friend, but “your memories are your jewels.” (Julie Butler) My greatest gift was not diamonds or pearls or even platinum, but rather a rusted, silver bracelet, and the memories that came with it. An abundance of my greatest memories I formed, were developed throughout my middle school years. Middle school was that awkward, yet amazing three years of changing and learning new things. It was the saga of outgrowing childhood, yet not grasping adulthood. Competing in events which were not offered in elementary such as playing on actual school sporting teams, performing musicals, and holding meetings or ceremonies were new opportunities. Being in charge of something was something absolutely exhilarating and contributed to making one feel older and more powerful. There is one specific ceremony my eighth grade class conducted that left me with a wonderful memory I shall never forget. The person responsible for that memory was my eighth grade Social Studies, teacher Mr. Ferman. He gave me, as well as the rest of my class the task of holding a Veterans Day ceremony to honor our American soldiers. This was something new and exciting to me. I had never got to help with holding such a worthy meeting or ceremony before this. My classmates and I worked hard on creating slideshows of the past wars and showing as much gratitude as possible to those who had served. We found proper songs that would fit the occasion and even asked our orchestra to play some of the tunes. Posters, brochures, and gifts were made and ready to be observed by those who would attend. The most exciting part was when my teacher told us that if we were close with any Veteran he would like us to invite them to our Veterans Day Ceremony. Without a second thought going through my head my Veteran would be the best, and I couldn’t wait to deliver my invitation! My invitation would go to my best friend in the entire world, my grandpa. He was the most delectable man to ever be around, and literally brought me to tears laughing every moment we spent together. I was beyond excited to ask him to attend the ceremony and introduce him to all of my friends and teachers. My grandpa served in World War Two and I was very enthused to speak about his experiences and adventures. My twin brother and I introduced him and my grandma to the crowd over a microphone by reading some of his background and some of his war experiences. I was delighted to hand them flowers along with a small gift to thank them for coming. Because of this assignment, I learned some of those war stories from my grandpa and received significant memories of my grandfather’s life. This was really memorable for me. I had never seen that fierce glow in his eyes before. He was soaking up every last drop of information and loving the ceremony from beginning to end. There was a luncheon with pizza we had ordered for those we had just honored, and heck yes we ate the grub along with them! The part I was super ecstatic for was when I got to introduce Grandpa to my favorite teacher, Mr. Whetham. They practically knew who each other was since I told numerous stories involving the other to each of them. After the fanfare was over, my grandpa pulled me to the side away from the crazy chaotic kids and handed me a box. Extremely anxious to see what was inside I ripped off the wrapping paper and flung open the box. Laying inside of the box I found a silver somewhat rusted bracelet. I pulled it out and read Harry B. Melander. Looking up at him he explained that it was his army ID bracelet, and that he had worn it every day he served and had kept it since then. It stated his ID number and troop number, this pretty much had his life information during the war on it and was very important Wow, this bracelet was so old! I was amazed he had still kept it. My eyes could not stop twinkling. He told me if I ever felt alone or scared to just put it on and think that he was right there with his arms around me since this bracelet had been around his arm for quite some time. The bracelet was the biggest treasure I could have ever wanted or received. A few months after the ceremony, my grandpa was placed in the hospital with a brain tumor. It was quite a shock to my family, because there were no signs of illness and he all of a sudden became very sick. Just a week later my greatest friend in the world spoke his last words. Yes, it was beyond unfair and I was extremely upset, but I knew I would never be alone. The next few months I wore my grandpa’s army ID bracelet just to remind myself he wasn’t really gone, he would always be with me wherever I would venture to. I still have the bracelet, which is wrapped around a photograph of him and me. The days I really miss him, I place the bracelet on my wrist and become absorbed in all of those amazing times we had spent together. Diamonds aren’t a girl’s best friend, but grandpa’s and their memories are!