A wise man once said, “If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.” This quote by Martin Luther King Jr. helped guide me through the process of dealing with my father’s death. On July 24, 2022, my dad, Ralph Turenne, died due to colon cancer. When my mom came to deliver the news to my brother and I at our old summer job (Dutch wonderland), the feeling of trying to stay strong was insignificant, my walls had completely collapsed, I became vulnerable like an orange without its rind. My Dad was such a lighthearted man who had a childlike imagination whenever he goofed around with my brother and I. Losing him felt impossible, almost fake to be exact. I felt lost afterwards, unsure if I could ever continue living my life to the fullest. After his funeral, our charismatic house was now draped in dull grays. The feeling of contentment was coming in waves. One minute I’m laughing with my family, smiling so hard, all 32 of my teeth are showing, to the next, hearing sniffles and whimpers coming from each room. For days it was like that, and not a second went by without constantly receiving people’s condolences, knowing their words can’t bring him back. With time, life started to feel normal again. One key takeaway I learned from my dad was to stay resilient through the tribulations. While he was battling colon cancer, he continued to head to work, operating trucks to take inventory from point A to point B. He stayed the hard working man that he was praised for being, so who was I to be sulking in grief every hour of the day. I was making no effort to accept the fact that my biggest fan had left me. Instead of [walking when I couldn’t run or crawling when I couldn’t walk] I decided to tune the world out. My father was my role model, and seeing how he didn’t let cancer affect his routine of living inspired me to get back on my feet. The journey that I took to get to where I am now wasn’t easy, which I knew it wouldn’t be, but with the support and love from my family and friends, I persevered. Like many who experienced losing a loved one knows how brutal the healing process can be, however I’ve learned that when life pushes you down, you get right back up, don’t give it the satisfaction of winning.

My name is Brielle Turenne, and I'm a freshman at Arcadia University. Instead of writting an essay I decided to send a two and a half minute video telling my dad's story, which is about his battle with colon cancer and how that impacted my life.