Prologue:
The place that I decided to focus my twitterive on is my bedroom. I chose this place in particular because it holds a lot of familiarity in my life. I wanted to focus on my grandmothers passing, and my bedroom is the last place that she “lived”. When I was 18 years old and a freshman away at Shippensburg University, my grandmother was diagnosed with lung cancer. While she underwent chemotherapy and radiation, my mom thought it would be best for her to move into our house so that she could be cared for. Seeing that I was away from home, she took over my bedroom. My college was approximately 3 hours away so I rarely came home to visit. There were other reasons for the lack in travel. One situation was that my family despised my ex-boyfriend. Due to the tension my relationship with him caused in my family, I rarely heard from nor saw them. Also, being a freshman at college, I did not have a car on campus so I had to rely on other means of transportation. In my twitterive, I’m trying to express the relationship I had with my grandmother and how that connection changed after she passed away. I was inspired to write about my grandmothers passing because recently I’ve been feeling disconnected from my life in many ways. I don’t feel like I am where I belong in a sense and my grandmom was the only person who always showed how much she cared about how I felt and had sure belief that I would be successful in anything that I’d do.
In my twitterive, I use many different genres including a journal entry, letters, obituary, eulogy, pictures, dialogue, and a poem. I start my twitterive with the phone call that I received from my mother about my grandmom passing away. I use different techniques to flash back and forth between past and present. My twitterive ends with images shown in rememberance of my grandmom and a present day poem written in rememberance.
Below is a list of tweets that I used to base my twitterive upon. The tweets all involve the passing of my grandmother as well as different inclusions of my bedroom.
# Is it weird that my familiar place is also an unfamiliar place?
# in rememberance..you are always with me http://twitpic.com/3xswf9
# 5 Years ago today..R.I.P. Grandmom. You're always with me.
# After she passed and I moved back home, I didn't sleep in my bedroom for some time because she was the last one to sleep there. #twitterive
# The only picture that she had in my bedroom, her last room, was one of me in a frame that says "I love my grandma" from yrs ago. #twitterive
# After calling me to say that her lung cancer was cleared up, she unexpectedly passed from an aortic anuerism. #twitterive
The place that I decided to focus my twitterive on is my bedroom. I chose this place in particular because it holds a lot of familiarity in my life. I wanted to focus on my grandmothers passing, and my bedroom is the last place that she “lived”. When I was 18 years old and a freshman away at Shippensburg University, my grandmother was diagnosed with lung cancer. While she underwent chemotherapy and radiation, my mom thought it would be best for her to move into our house so that she could be cared for. Seeing that I was away from home, she took over my bedroom. My college was approximately 3 hours away so I rarely came home to visit. There were other reasons for the lack in travel. One situation was that my family despised my ex-boyfriend. Due to the tension my relationship with him caused in my family, I rarely heard from nor saw them. Also, being a freshman at college, I did not have a car on campus so I had to rely on other means of transportation. In my twitterive, I’m trying to express the relationship I had with my grandmother and how that connection changed after she passed away. I was inspired to write about my grandmothers passing because recently I’ve been feeling disconnected from my life in many ways. I don’t feel like I am where I belong in a sense and my grandmom was the only person who always showed how much she cared about how I felt and had sure belief that I would be successful in anything that I’d do.
In my twitterive, I use many different genres including a journal entry, letters, obituary, eulogy, pictures, dialogue, and a poem. I start my twitterive with the phone call that I received from my mother about my grandmom passing away. I use different techniques to flash back and forth between past and present. My twitterive ends with images shown in rememberance of my grandmom and a present day poem written in rememberance.
Below is a list of tweets that I used to base my twitterive upon. The tweets all involve the passing of my grandmother as well as different inclusions of my bedroom.
# Is it weird that my familiar place is also an unfamiliar place?
# in rememberance..you are always with me http://twitpic.com/3xswf9
# 5 Years ago today..R.I.P. Grandmom. You're always with me.
# After she passed and I moved back home, I didn't sleep in my bedroom for some time because she was the last one to sleep there. #twitterive
# The only picture that she had in my bedroom, her last room, was one of me in a frame that says "I love my grandma" from yrs ago. #twitterive
# After calling me to say that her lung cancer was cleared up, she unexpectedly passed from an aortic anuerism. #twitterive
The phone nearly fell out of my hand. “I don’t get it. I just talked to her last week. She said herself that everything was great.”
“I’m really sorry sweetie. I think you should come home.” I could hear my mom gasp for air and slurp up the snot that was probably running down her upper lip.
“I’m really sorry sweetie. I think you should come home.” I could hear my mom gasp for air and slurp up the snot that was probably running down her upper lip.
Nancy L. Mandos (Cook)
Nancy, 69, died Sunday Feb. 9, 2006 due to an aortic anuerism. She was mother of Joanne (42), Susan (43), Lisa (45), Dianne(46) and Nancy (47) as well as 9 grandchildren and one great grandson. Relatives and friends are invited to Funeral Services Thursday 11:30 A.M. at Boakes Funeral Home. Nancy worked on the Cape May Lewes Ferry and previously was a resident at The Oaks of Weymouth. Her husband, George Mandos, died May 25, 2005.
Eulogy
Good evening. My name is Jacqueline Bosworth and I am one of Nancy's granddaughters. Growing up, I never truly realized how special my grandmother was to me. I was always a very appreciative person and am constantly trying to show this to the people around me. My grandmom always seemed to take recognition of this. She would always comment me on how polite I was and told me that I was the best granddaughter. I'm sure she told all of her grandchildren that because she was very similar to me. She always wanted people to feel good about themselves and believe that they can be whatever they set their mind to. My grandmother always had the highest hopes and dreams set forth for me. Now that she is passed, I am sad to face the facts that she will not be there to see me graduate college. She was always so supportive of me while I was in school. I know that she, along with my grandfather George Mandos, will be there with me in spirit. I am sad to say that I did not spend as much time as I should have with my grandmom before she passed. I was off at college and living the typical life of an 18 year old. I will forever regret the lack of concern that I showed for my grandmother while she was sick. I think that I was afraid of losing her, so I pushed her away before it actually happened. Nancy was a great person, mother, grandmother, and best friend. She will always be in my heart and I will constantly be reminded of her through the many memories that we created together.
Dear Journal,
I haven’t been able to sleep in my room yet. I moved back home last week and have yet to feel comfort in my own bedroom. All I keep thinking about is how grandmom was the last one to sleep in my bed. Honestly, it scares me. What if her spirit wants to visit me? I can’t handle that yet, if ever. Instead, I’ve been sleeping in the extra bedroom on the futon. Every time I walk back into my bedroom, I feel dizzy. It’s like this sense of disillusion comes over me. The room still smells of cigarettes and coffee, her two pleasures in life. I can’t believe I’ve been so selfish. Why didn’t I visit her more? Now it’s too late. What did she think about me when she passed? Did she still see me as the best granddaughter? I started crying yesterday when I realized that the only picture she had up was of me in a frame that says “I love my grandma” in a multitude of colors. I miss her and hope she is in a better place. I hope I can still feel the support she used to give me even though she isn't around to tell me.
<3 Jax
I haven’t been able to sleep in my room yet. I moved back home last week and have yet to feel comfort in my own bedroom. All I keep thinking about is how grandmom was the last one to sleep in my bed. Honestly, it scares me. What if her spirit wants to visit me? I can’t handle that yet, if ever. Instead, I’ve been sleeping in the extra bedroom on the futon. Every time I walk back into my bedroom, I feel dizzy. It’s like this sense of disillusion comes over me. The room still smells of cigarettes and coffee, her two pleasures in life. I can’t believe I’ve been so selfish. Why didn’t I visit her more? Now it’s too late. What did she think about me when she passed? Did she still see me as the best granddaughter? I started crying yesterday when I realized that the only picture she had up was of me in a frame that says “I love my grandma” in a multitude of colors. I miss her and hope she is in a better place. I hope I can still feel the support she used to give me even though she isn't around to tell me.
<3 Jax
I enter my room and immediately feel the tension in my stomach. I get that rush of blood from my head to my toes and grab the door frame. As I walk towards my closet of things, I nearly fall when I trip over a box full of letters and cards. As I rummage through my past memories, one of the letters really grasps my attention.
I received this letter before I was about to leave for college. Reading the letter takes me back to how things ended when I lived in my dorm room at Shippensburg. I start to revive the crappy relationship I had with Dave and how badly things ended. After numerous times of lying and deceiving me, he cheats on me and then threatens to commit suicide. I feel forced to drag out the pathetic downfall in my life, but it does end eventually.
I remember how it affected my schooling and how it was a part of the reason that I moved home.
I remember how much that relationship separated me from my family.
I remember how terrible it felt to receive that phone call..
I remember how it affected my schooling and how it was a part of the reason that I moved home.
I remember how much that relationship separated me from my family.
I remember how terrible it felt to receive that phone call..
As I crawl under my covers and disappear into my own thoughts, I recall the last time I talked to my grandmother.
“Hello?” I didn’t know who to expect on the other side. The call came in through the old off-white dorm room phone.
“Hello Jacqueline! How are you?” I knew it was my grandmom right away because she was the only person who always called me by my full name. The tone that she used was changed from most recently. Something in her voice told me that she was feeling better about things.
“Good. School is a killer, but I’m having a good time with friends. How are things back home?” She was currently living with my parents and brother. My grandfather passed away a year before and as a family we decided it would be best if she wasn’t alone during this time. My grandmom was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer and was currently going through the radiation and chemotherapy treatment. We didn’t expect her to live much longer with those test results.
“I appreciate your mom and dad very much. I don’t know how they do it. They both work full time and yet are still full of energy when they come home.” I again focus on how pleasant her voice sounds in my ears.
“How are you doing?” I wanted her to open up some more, which usually wasn’t hard for her to do with me. My grandmom always loved how well I listened.
“Actually, I’m glad you asked. That’s why I called, I have great news! I saw the doctor yesterday and the cancer has almost completely cleared up. He said the treatment has made a tremendous turn around.” Her voice was getting higher and more clarified.
“Yay! I’m so happy. That’s really amazing.” I wasn’t sure if she could tell, but I actually teared up with happiness. It was such a relief to hear this good news. Being away from home while everything was happening was really tough to handle. I was going through so much already just being a freshman in college. 1.) Cheating/Lying/Emotionally Abusive boyfriend I couldn't rid of due to threats of suicide 2.) The dog that I spent my childhood growing up with had to be put down. My mom didn't tell me until a week later because I was taking exams when it happened. 3.) This past weekend a kid 2 floors directly down from my dorm room committed suicide.
"Yes. Everyone is really happy, including me! Now I really can start planning to go to Disney World. I can't wait!" My grandmom was, in a sense, held back by my grandfather for the past 10 years. He had emphysema and traveling was limited. When he passed away 8 months previous to this phone call, my grandmom used the money she recieved to pay for our entire family (3 aunts and 7 grandchildren along with my dad and herself)to go on this Disney trip together. We didn't find out about the lung cancer until she already booked the trip.
"I'm really excited for this trip grandma. Thanks again! I love you."
"I love you too sweetie." I knew she did very much.
After hanging up the phone, I immediately felt the release of tension in my shoulders and back. I hadn’t realized how much her health was affecting me.
“Hello?” I didn’t know who to expect on the other side. The call came in through the old off-white dorm room phone.
“Hello Jacqueline! How are you?” I knew it was my grandmom right away because she was the only person who always called me by my full name. The tone that she used was changed from most recently. Something in her voice told me that she was feeling better about things.
“Good. School is a killer, but I’m having a good time with friends. How are things back home?” She was currently living with my parents and brother. My grandfather passed away a year before and as a family we decided it would be best if she wasn’t alone during this time. My grandmom was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer and was currently going through the radiation and chemotherapy treatment. We didn’t expect her to live much longer with those test results.
“I appreciate your mom and dad very much. I don’t know how they do it. They both work full time and yet are still full of energy when they come home.” I again focus on how pleasant her voice sounds in my ears.
“How are you doing?” I wanted her to open up some more, which usually wasn’t hard for her to do with me. My grandmom always loved how well I listened.
“Actually, I’m glad you asked. That’s why I called, I have great news! I saw the doctor yesterday and the cancer has almost completely cleared up. He said the treatment has made a tremendous turn around.” Her voice was getting higher and more clarified.
“Yay! I’m so happy. That’s really amazing.” I wasn’t sure if she could tell, but I actually teared up with happiness. It was such a relief to hear this good news. Being away from home while everything was happening was really tough to handle. I was going through so much already just being a freshman in college. 1.) Cheating/Lying/Emotionally Abusive boyfriend I couldn't rid of due to threats of suicide 2.) The dog that I spent my childhood growing up with had to be put down. My mom didn't tell me until a week later because I was taking exams when it happened. 3.) This past weekend a kid 2 floors directly down from my dorm room committed suicide.
"Yes. Everyone is really happy, including me! Now I really can start planning to go to Disney World. I can't wait!" My grandmom was, in a sense, held back by my grandfather for the past 10 years. He had emphysema and traveling was limited. When he passed away 8 months previous to this phone call, my grandmom used the money she recieved to pay for our entire family (3 aunts and 7 grandchildren along with my dad and herself)to go on this Disney trip together. We didn't find out about the lung cancer until she already booked the trip.
"I'm really excited for this trip grandma. Thanks again! I love you."
"I love you too sweetie." I knew she did very much.
After hanging up the phone, I immediately felt the release of tension in my shoulders and back. I hadn’t realized how much her health was affecting me.
"Jackie. It's time for dinner." My mom yells up the steps.
"Alright, be right down." I wipe the tears away that seem to have formed on my face. As I fold up the letter that I was reading and place it back into the box, I take one last glance around the room before heading downstairs. I recognize the many objects surrounding me that have been left in memory of my grandmother.
"Alright, be right down." I wipe the tears away that seem to have formed on my face. As I fold up the letter that I was reading and place it back into the box, I take one last glance around the room before heading downstairs. I recognize the many objects surrounding me that have been left in memory of my grandmother.
Thinking of you.
(hold cursor above picture to receive information involving the significance)
(hold cursor above picture to receive information involving the significance)
CapeMay Lewes Ferry Inlet- My grandmom worked on the ferry. No matter what, whenever I go to this place it reminds me of the many memories we created here together.
“Five Years Ago Today”
I moved back home
didn't sleep in my bedroom
she was the last one to sleep there.
So tired, no sleep
I love the night sky.
It's so cold in my house.
The only picture was of me.
You're always with me.
Should a child be forgiven?
My bedroom, her last room.
I love my grandma
R.I.P.
I moved back home
didn't sleep in my bedroom
she was the last one to sleep there.
So tired, no sleep
I love the night sky.
It's so cold in my house.
The only picture was of me.
You're always with me.
Should a child be forgiven?
My bedroom, her last room.
I love my grandma
R.I.P.
