Have You Heard?
Have you ever heard of ghost lights, phosphorous, or farmed in a field? My grandpa sure had. He was born into a poor rural farming family in the 40s and 50s and worked in the fields as a young child along with his older brothers. Near the field, there was a forest around the cemetery because people planted trees near the graves to wish their ancestors, family members and friends a life as long as the trees. One day at age 8, he was taking care of the wheat by himself when it got dark, but he had to take the wheat to his house nearly a mile away. Going through the forest was a shortcut, but there was a belief in his village that the cemetery had ghosts that could emit blue lights and catch kids. As it became darker and darker, my grandpa decided to walk through the forest by himself. As he was walking carefully through the woods, he heard the wind howl and the dancing blue light suddenly appeared. M grandpa gulped. He threw the wheat aside and rushed out of the forest. Luckily, one of his older brothers came to look for him and saved him from the scary moment. When they got home, my grandpa thought, whew, I’m so lucky I have older brothers to protect me.
Later, grandpa learned from his chemistry teacher in middle school that the blue light was actually emitted by a chemical element called phosphorus. Phosphorus can easily ignite in high temperatures. The element is also found in bones and can easily escape and move around because of the wind. From then on, he never feared the ghost light anymore.
My grandpa worked very hard and strived to bring a better life for his family. Since his family was poor, he could not afford full meals and felt his stomach growl every night before he went to bed. Past generations of his family were all farmers, and he could have continued the tradition and became a farmer as well. Instead, my grandpa decided to make a change and go to school, which was uncommon over 60 years ago. Many kids at that time did not go to school. He knew that education would help lift his family out of the trappings of poverty and, as it turned out, later it did. Since his family knew nothing about education and resources were scarce, my grandpa could only rely on himself to study and learn. After years of waking up before sunrise and studying until midnight, his efforts finally paid off. My grandpa went to college and became a math teacher afterwards.
His passion for math and hard working ethic was later passed down to me. I have loved math since I was little, and until this day it remains one of my most favorite academic subjects. I have been continuing the family tradition of working hard and learning math and I am very thankful for my grandpa's perseverance and resilience. His struggles and successes illustrate that no matter how disadvantageous you are, you can still achieve a lot through hard work and persistence.
Julia
is a high school student who enjoys playing the piano, writing, drawing and dancing. She has been playing the piano for 10 years and in her free time she loves to compose music and play around with different chords.