Chapter 3. Anything Is Possible
He didn’t stop there. He continued to save even more money. Why? Because even though he was making money, he believed his children were Americans and he wanted them all to go to college. I never got to meet him, but I did get to meet one of his four chil- dren—my grandmother, who is one of the dearest people in my entire life. From her, I learned a lot of great life lessons. Whatever problems I had growing up, they can’t compare to what she had to overcome. When she was twelve, my grandmother’s mother died in her arms. My grandmother had to quit school and to take care of her younger siblings. As if that weren’t bad enough, a few years later, when my grandmother was fifteen, my great-grandfather, who was also a part of his local fire department, was killed when the town’s fire truck overturned. Now here was my grandmother, who at age fifteen had lost both her parents and had four younger siblings to care for. Fortu- nately, my great-grandfather had saved enough money for her to live on and raise the other children. My grandmother took control and ran the household by herself. Even though she was just fifteen and only had a seventh grade education, my grandmother was able to budget the money and raise all the children until the youngest turned eighteen. She never once thought of the negatives. She didn’t focus on the awful situation; she focused on something more important to her—her brothers and sisters, and her father’s faith in her to manage the money for them to live. Can you see why my grandmother is my greatest mentor, my inspiration, and so much more? I thank God I was able to know her so deeply and learn so much from her before Alzheimer’s dis- ease took much of her mind. Even though my parents were divorced, and we had no money and a million other obstacles, I still had 100 times more than my great-grandfather and my grandmother had. Even today, as I write the story, it inspires me on a new level. Oftentimes, the acres of diamonds we’re looking for are right in
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