Health is a condition of optimal well-being. Being healthy involves being in a state of physical, mental and social well-being. I have been exposed to healthy and unhealthy people in all three areas. Growing up, I had two younger brothers with chronic illnesses. A chronic illness is a recurring illness or disease with periods of exacerbation and remission. One of my brothers was extremely ill with chronic kidney disease and received the Last Rites several times. My youngest brother got a staph infection in both eyes; tear ducts and tear glands when he was a newborn. I was the eldest of four children and therefore shared responsibility for my three brothers. On top of that, my grandmother came to live with us and we became roommates. My grandmother was diabetic, controlled by diet and oral medications and had a standing monthly appointment with the podiatrist for routine foot care. I accompanied him most often and what a great time we would have. On our return trip, the taxi driver dropped us off a few blocks from the house. We would window shop, pick up Mom's medicine, then stop for lunch. I always ordered a burger, fries with gravy, and an ice cold root beer to drink. Sometimes we treated ourselves to a quarter pound of whole cashews and ate them on the way home. It seems strange that I remember exactly what I would order for lunch on these trips, but those memories are still very vivid. My mother working as a nurse in a long-term care facility has certainly given me an awareness of aging that my friends don't necessarily feel. . I spent many weekend nights with her at work and learned what it truly meant to care about strangers. Strangers middle of paper......many families live in different states, very far from their grandparents and that's a shame. I think Eastern cultures have the right idea, multiple generations reside in one house and elders are revered and therefore respected for their knowledge. I wish I had finished school years ago and been at a point in my life where I could retire now. and I split my time during the year between spending time with my family and volunteering with an organization like Peace Corp or Vista. If I had already graduated, who knows what doors might have opened and what further education I might have attempted. Who knows what other life skills I may have learned. I realize it's never too late to learn and I've always loved school, so I hope I have enough years ahead of me to achieve these goals and use new skills in a positive way..