speech and debate personal speech second trimester 2014

One of the people who has made me who I am today is my grandmother. While she raised my mom and literally made it possible for me to be alive, she also impacted my life in a way that no one else has ever done before. 

Cornilia C. Rogers was the daughter of a well known Colonel in the Army and throughout her life faced severe oppression, abuse, and discrimination just for being a women. Yet as the bra burning feminist that she was, no matter what obstacle was placed in front of her she would face it head on and do her best to conquer it. She attended Stanford University where she received her Bachelors Degree in Nursing and then Columbia University where she furthered her education to receive her Masters Degree. She helped create what is known as Aerobic Dancing and taught classes for over 40 years, retiring only when her chemotherapy made her too sick to dance. She believed that her greatest achievement was teaching nursing at a local college, and was very invested in respecting the environment and helping those in need. She would always refuse christmas presents, wanting all money to be given to someone in need rather than spent on her. She taught me proper etiquette, how to keep my head held high and be confidant, and how to work hard and always reach for my dreams. She was caring, and silly, and the worlds best grandmother. 

In January of 2014 she was diagnosed with stage 4 melanoma cancer. The cancer had spread into her lymph nodes and she was terminal. 

With only a few short months to live by the time June came, we knew that she would be leaving us soon. So, as any rational family would, we had a family reunion. We rented two beach houses in the small fishing town where she lived in North Carolina, and we came together as a family in order to show her how much she was loved, and how dearly that she will be missed. 

I was returning home from an icecream parlor on the mainland with three of cousins when my aunt called me. She was crying, and told us to meet her at Cornelia's house. When we arrived at my grandmothers house I was escorted into the sitting room by my uncle who told us with tear filled eyes  to wait; that my grandmother was close and wanted to say goodbye.

She told me that she loved me, how proud of me she was, and that the only thing that she wants is for us to stay together as a family, because family is something that we take for granted. She told me that her happiest moment was when my mom called her after 20 years of not speaking to her and said that she was pregnant with me and that she wanted to work things out so that I could have a good relationship with my grandmother. She told me to always believe in myself, and to follow my heart. She told me that it is okay to be sad, but that I needed to let go because it was time for her to rest. She said goodnight. I kissed her on the cheek, and we went home. 

Throughout everything, my grandmother wanted us to continue our sailing lessons that we have done annually for the past 3 years. And on the following day, she passed while we were on the open ocean sailing. That day we saw dolphins and sting rays, and even a shark, and I know that that is exactly where she would have wanted us to be. That evening we went to her favorite restaurant; Thai Peppers, a wonderful little Thai restaurant in Southport, and we ate as a family, all 24 of us.