Memoir

            The person who influenced me the most in my life would have to be my
 grandmother Maria Borges. She was short, 5 feet tall, with beautiful brown eyes and
soft short brown hair. She was always dressed very nicely wearing her clothing, and
matching her colors to a tee, with her gorgeous  Portuguese jewelry. She was a loving
caring woman, and was a very supportive person on the decisions that I had made
regarding any of  my career choices . One thing you would always see her doing was
laughing and smiling; she always had a positive attitude towards everyone or everything.

    
            I visited many different countries with her and my family such as Portugal,
 Canada, and Florida. The place I will never forget is one summer I went to Portugal with my
grandmother. In Portugal there was many different stores with a whole bunch on
 styles of clothing to pick from. It has a lot of things always going on it was a very
 active country that never sleeps. The best memory I have with her is of us was spending
time together and learning about  the jobs she did growing up as a child such as ,making
sure the house was spotless and dinner was ready before then men got home. My
grandmother taught me different things from back in her day such as the way she used to
prepare the meals and when she got the fresh milk from the cows she would make
delicious home made cheese.


            One of the things I associate with my grandmother, are cooking because of
 the big delicious meals. Being in a Portuguese family means you love feeding your
 family and seeing everybody happy. My grandmother’s favorite foods were kale soup,
meat and potatoes and especially sweet bread, she made the best bread in our entire
family. She taught me how to make my favorite dish chicken and shrimp mozambique.
The time in the kitchen was our bonding time were she would teach me different ways of
knowing how something was cooked or if spices needed to add into a dish. In the
kitchen I had so much fun with my grandmother we would always laugh and joke around,
but moments like these I will never forget.
  
.

        There were many special and memorable occasions because of my grandmother.
 During Christmas time we would always go to my grandparent’s house and open gifts
 together and share what we had received. Easter was also a special time because it was
 her favorite holiday and the holiday she looked forward to the most every year. During
 Halloween she would take me out to trick or treat with all my cousins. All these
 occasions were special to me and were memories that I will cherish in my heart for
 the rest of my life.


            When I think about her I have mixed emotions. Happy knowing she was the best
 thing that had happened to me . Sad because she’s not with me anymore to see me grow
 up. I was 16 years old when she passed away and it was the worst day of my life. My
 grandmother was the most important person to me because she raised me and taught me
 how to be the fun loving person that I am today. I will always look up to her and keep a
special place for her in my heart. I respect her for everything she has done for me. This is
the amazing women that has impacted me for the rest of my life