Tuesdays With Morrie Interview

Interviewing my Grandfather, Earl Bomgaars, opened my eyes to realize that there is so much more to learn in life than just schooling. Not only does he show me that there is some much to learn, but that life is a blessing. From the book Tuesday’s with Morrie, there is a section that stuck out to me and in a way I felt like could feel my grandpa say the same exact thing. “It’s very simple. As you grow, you learn more. If you stayed at twenty-two, you’d always be as ignorant as you were at twenty-two. Aging is not just decay, you know. It’s growth. It’s more than the negative that you’re going to die, It’s also the positive that you understand you’re going to die, and that you live a better life because of it” (34). These lines are basically what Morrie lived by and

showed who he was even though he was going through some tough battles. With all the negative in Morrie’s life he was still able to pick out the positive’s and let those things guide him. Life is a battle and interviewing my father and grandfather, and reading about Morrie has opened my eyes to things that I can’t see.
Money has become the main drive for every teenager in this day in age.

Personally, I look and strive for money because what else is a teenager supposed to do without money. So learning about what others believe about money is something that strikes me and challenges me to think differently. With many having this perspective on money, Morrie and my interviewees remind me that there is more to life than just money. My father said that money was his motivation at a young age, but believed that money should be something that we should work for (Personal Interview). My grandfather on the other hand believed that money was an evil. He also believes that money should be put towards things that matter and not things that you want (Personal Interview). This leads me into what Morrie believed about money. “You don’t need the latest sports car, you don’t need the biggest house. The truth is, you don’t get satisfaction from those things” (36). Morrie’s outlook expresses that we don’t need these things in life, and he also mentions that these things don’t supply any satisfaction. The true satisfaction is the satisfaction of family and friends, and the relationships that we develop through

life.
Other than money, the biggest driving factor for any actions as teenagers is love. Learning from the family member that I interviewed, love is something that everyone has the ability to do. Coming from my Father, “Everyone can love” and “We can all love each other no matter what” (Personal Interview). After interviewing my grandfather, I can see how my own father has picked up some things about love from my grandpa. My father said everyone can love, well my grandfather says “God loves everyone no matter what, so can I” (Personal Interview). It was a little odd to hear them say these things about love the people that are close to me, but they also mentioned something about loving your enemies. After my father had replied to the question of love, he explained to me why I should love my opponents in sports. He proceeded to explain that loving my opponents is hard, but thinking about the fact that playing them will make be a better player and person is what truly matters. Seeing the connection between the two shows that the ideas have been passed from my grandfather to my father, and my father has passed this on to me as well. I have realized that love is more than just finding a spouse, love is something that you can have for everyone!
One of my biggest fears in live is knowing that there is going to be an end. It has haunted me ever since I knew what death was, but Morrie, my dad, and my grandpa have put some positive spirits in me that have helped me out. Morrie said, “Everyone knows they’re going to die, but nobody believes it. If we did, we would do things differently” (24). Morrie didn’t tell me how to overcome this, but he informs me that since I worry about it I should act as if I know it’s coming. This is a challenge for me because using what Morrie has said, I need to face the fact that I can’t live forever. My father said, “It’s just a matter of when, but he wants to spend the time he has with family so that he doesn’t worry about it” (Personal Interview). Being in sports I’ve learned that injuries can happen so fast, and life is just like sport. In life you never know what’s going to happen because in the blink of an eye you could lose a loved one. My grandfather was in the same boat I am right now, but he says, “He’s ready, and wants to spend eternal life with the Lord” (Personal Interview). My grandpa has showed me that the more time I can spend in the word of the Lord, the less I will worry about death. This is one of my challenges as a person, is to learn as much as I can, so that I can worry less.
Connecting the views of my father, my grandfather, and Morrie has opened a door for me to see what life is really about. Being a teenager, we only think about ourselves, but yet people try to encourage us to look at life differently. I have gained some amazing life lessons, and got answers to some of life’s biggest questions by learning from my father, my grandfather, and learning Morrie’s story. So my challenge is to use what I have learned, open the door and step into reality.