Growing through Grief by Olivia

Growing through Grief by Olivia - April 2026 Scholarship Essay

Life is all about growing and developing oneself through the obstacles of life. For me, it is especially important that I master how to cope with grief. My aunt suffers from a rare neurodegenerative disease known as Huntington’s Disease. Unfortunately, within the next few years she is going to pass, as there is no cure or treatment.
Through the years I have coped with the feeling of when I found out she had the disease, accepting that it is going to take her, and seeing her symptoms appear and worsen. While I have come to terms with the fact that she is going to pass, I have not figured out how to act about it. Often times I try to avoid her when she is around and I hate when we go to visit. Not because I don’t want to spend time with her, that’s exactly what I want, I just don’t know how to portray myself around her. I think that somehow by pretending the issue doesn’t exist that it doesn’t and can’t hurt me, so I hide from it. My goal for myself is that by working on it, I will master the skill of coping with grief so that I am no longer afraid to spend time with her because I know I will regret it.
I have never experienced a loss to this extent or under these circumstances, so I do not understand how to work through grief. My goal is that within the next few years through pushing myself out of my comfort zone and by working with a therapist, I will master this skill so that I am able to continue on with my life as normally and happily as possible. I want to be there for my aunt and spend time with her because I know that’s what she wants, so I am going to push myself to do it, even if I’m scared. I am also going to talk through it with a therapist so that they can help me manage my emotions. I need to master how to deal with grieving someone who is still here, so that when she passes I can manage my feelings and be someone that others can lean on, especially my mother. My mother has lost her grandmother, her mother, and now her sister to this hereditary disease, so I need to master coping with grief and my own emotions so that I can be present for her too. Unfortunately, mastering this skill will not mean that it hurts any less or that my aunt wasn’t a major part of my life. I think that mastering this skill just means that I know how to continue on with my life and not hide from the pain anymore.