Inspiration

My grandfather Richard inspires me because he overcame many obstacles in his life. He grew up very poor & was forced to start working at a very young age. When he was only ten he had several jobs including shoe shining & helping out his father, who owned a barber shop. His father always told him that he wanted him to go to college & become a police officer. It was his fathers dream & he wanted his son to be prosperous & live his dream. But that was not what my grandfather wanted to pursue, his dream was to become a famous singer. In his free time my grandfather would go to sing at clubs, where he became widely known. One day at the club he was approached with a record deal, but he declined. My grandfather would have agreed but he knew that was not what his father wanted. So my grandfather continued going to school & attempted to balance his several jobs & singing at the club. After graduating college my grandfather was forced to leave all his dreams of stardom behind him, he joined the army & went to war to fight for our country. After several years he returned home from war. He had a story to tell & war really changed him. He had a new outlook on life & really a new appreciation for life. He decided that he wouldn't waste any time so he started working in Brooklyn as a police officer, although it wasn't a career he really wanted he ended up liking it. His days of becoming famous were over but the officers found out he was a singer & they asked to sing at the police functions. After singing at several police functions it seemed like everyone knew who he was. My grandfather is now widely known in Brooklyn as the handsome & talented police officer. Even though he is retired everyone knows his name. His fathers dream came true, his son became a prosperous police officer & my grandfather got to sing at functions which some what satisfied him. Although my grandfather was doing very well as far as making money he is still the same person, the little boy who worked several jobs to help his family, he is & always will be poor at heart. He said:"No matter how much money I have in my pocket I will always be poor in my heart." I have no idea what he has been through, he really struggled & worked so hard to help out. That is why my grandfather is my inspiration. He has seen just about everything life has to bring & I have learned so much from him. He has truly changed my life & made it so much better.