Where I Come From

By Dillon Lansberg

My Japanese grandmother is an atomic bomb survivor. I try to emulate her because of her past and because she is an extremely strong-willed person. During my childhood, she never uttered a word concerning the historical events of her lifetime when my family would visit her. Instead, she doted upon me as all grandmothers do. When I was assigned a project in eighth grade to interview a family member, I chose her because of little hints my parents dropped as I grew up. The significance of the bombing didn’t register with me until I was older. Instead of holding on to that disaster, and using it to gain attention and special treatment as some people do, she moved on and lived the rest of her life. She taught me our past has a great impact but the future is vital because we can change it. Had my grandmother been older than eight at the time, I think she would have lost hope in the future. I learned from her to persevere through adversity, to strive to improve because nothing in life could be as devastating as her experiences. She instilled upon me to never be a victim and I put that above all else that she’s taught me.