Danielle Bruce
Mr. James Dedic
Sociology of Aging
April 8th, 2013
Thoughts on Aging The grieving process is like a roller coaster full of ups and downs, highs and lows. Like many roller coasters, the ride tends to be rougher in the beginning; the lows are usually deeper and longer. The difficult periods become less intense and shorter as time goes by, however it takes time to work through loss. Even years after a loss, especially at special events such as a family wedding or the birth of a child, we may still experience a strong sense of grief. When I am experiencing I would rather be alone to grieve before seeking out the comfort of others. When my parents divorced when I was two years old I thought it was the end of the world. That was until my eighteen year old brother passed away just eleven days after my twenty first birthday of an overdose to methamphetamine. When my mother called me the day she found out Tyler was gone I shut down. I found myself wanting to be alone to grieve. However, the process was made difficult due to the numerous amounts of sympathy emails I would receive from friends and distant family members on Facebook. I felt such a strong sense of emptiness. I found myself looking to the comfort of family members more than friends. In my brother’s life he struggled with addiction to drugs. In the last few months of his life my family has never felt so much happiness. In those last few months my brother began to turn his life around. He began school at Cypress College, got a job, and even moved out of my grandmother’s house into a sober living. He gave himself to God in those last few months. I remember my brother Tyler even finding peace himself. I strongly feel that knowing my brother was at peace and no longer is suffering to be what helped me through the grieving process. My family is central to my identity and will remain