My first grandfather passed away in 2011 from a heart attack and it was my first major experience dealing with death. In 2018, my second grandpa passed away from a heart attack just a mere day before I was supposed to spend the night at his house. Both experiences made me resent smoking more and more, but as time has passed I’ve realized that the best thing I can do is understand that they truly didn’t enjoy smoking, it was just a habit they never could break.

I have made a personal pact since the day my second grandfather passed away to never smoke a day in my life and I’ve honored it ever since. Addiction isn’t an easy thing to see constantly affecting those you love, but the one thing you can do is help those in your lives who may be suffering from an addiction of any kind instead of berating them constantly, as you never know what the mental struggles those going through addiction are feeling.