Loss Timeline

My paternal grandfather died when I was 10 years old and in the fourth grade. This death was the first family remember that I could remember passing away.

When the September 11th attacks occurred, I was about to turn elven years old and in the fifth grade. This event was the first time that I realized that terrorism and war could happen on American soil.

As my mother had an estranged relationship with her father, I did not grow up being close to my grandfather, however, his death still impacted my life. I was twelve years old and in the sixth grade.

During the summer before my senior year of high school, I began to drift away from my two closest friends throughout high school. I was seventeen years old and about to begin my senior year.

The summer before I left for college, I lost my first real boyfriend. I was eighteen years old.

After high school, I began college at a university that was a three hour drive away from my parents' home. For the first time, I was on my own, and I knew that I would never live with my parents again. I was eighteen years old.

One of my high school friends went to the same university that I did. As we had always had crushes on each other, we never really dated during high school. However, since we were away, we decided to date. We ended our relationship the fall semester of freshman year. From this, I also lost a close friend. I was nineteen years old.

During my freshman year of college, I became close friends with a girl who went to my high school. During high school, however, we weren't that close of friends. After the summer of freshman year, we began to drift apart and ended our friendship the fall semester of sophomore year. I was nineteen years old.

At the beginning of the spring semester of my sophomore year of college, I began seriously dating someone, however, I ended the relationship during the fall semester of my junior year. I was twenty years old.