I am awoken in the morning to the smell of eggs frying in a skillet and to the sounds of pans clinking against the countertop. I can hear the grease crackling in the pan as eggs begin to fry. My dad is starting his day the same way he does every morning, with purpose and determination. My dad's upbringing was difficult and they were as poor as dirt. There were seven people crammed into a small three bedroom house like a can of sardines. There wasn't ever enough money for anything but the bare necessities. My dad's meager upbringing is the reason for his determination and how he chooses to live his life as an adult. Dad's childhood has impacted his life in many ways. Dad makes sure that he provides for his family, spends as much time as possible with my mom and I, and his goal is to ensure that our family gets to enjoy a few luxuries that aren't just considered to be bare necessities.
My grandparents were hardworking individuals that spent most of their days working their fingers to the bone in the family café. My grandmother would often come home exhausted and too weary to spend quality time with her young family before she had to wake up and do it all over again the next day. My grandmother stood five foot ten, as thin as a rake, and a body that was beginning to show her age. Here dark brown hair was beginning to show a few gray hairs that looked as if someone had lightly stroked a paintbrush with white paint through her hair. Her face was beginning to show a few wrinkles around her mouth and she had deep crevices around her eyes. The most distinctive feature that spoke of her age...