Lessons from my Nonna

BY LISA GRECO

My nonna, Louia Cassi Palermo, “travels to the beat of a different drummer.” She has done many things in my community that have helped make it a better place. She also shows great leadership which has inspired me to be a good example for other people.

My nonna is the holiest person I know. She goes to Mass every Sunday and on all religious holy days. She walks in all the processions they have for the saints. She prays the rosary every night and listens to a religious radio station. My nonna led me to believe in God. She taught me that whatever happens in life, it is God’s plan, and it will all be okay because God would never hurt us. My nonna led me to do community service in my parish. This makes me feel close to God. It also makes me feel like I am my own person because many teens now are ashamed to help in church because they think it’s uncool. Most importantly, my nonna is very loving. She always teaches me to forgive people. Unlike many, she never has anything bad to say about others. Even though I do not do all these things, I am trying and working my way there because of the example she has set. I think if we were all like her, the world would be a better place.

My nonna is the way God reveals Himself to me which is very inspiring because even though I might be different than other people because I pray a lot, I feel more connected to God. Her example of being her own person has taught me to forget about what others do and want you to do and just be myself even though there are going to be people that don’t like it.

My nonna is also different because she is an immigrant from Italy. Coming from a different country was a very hard thing for her because people would make fun of you for it. They also limited the jobs you could get, and immigrants were usually underpaid. They looked at the Italian immigrants as unworthy people that shouldn’t be allowed in America. Many Italians changed part of their last names to sound more American, but my nonna ignored this ridicule and kept her last name unchanged. She did not at all try to hide her heritage. She carried out all the Italian traditions and was not ashamed. She made a lot of homemade pasta on the weekdays, baked her own bread and pizza, and every Sunday there was homemade pasta (handmade, not bought) with homemade tomato sauce from fresh tomatoes grown in our garden. My nonna and nonno had a garden where they grew everything possible. This garden is very special to me because it has inspired me to persevere in what I want. They worked like animals and didn’t have leisure time. Instead of relaxing and going out like others, they worked on this masterpiece. They kept this garden alive like it was their little piece of Italy in America.

My nonna and nonno could not afford to buy a house right away. Eventually, my nonna said she wanted her own house. She has told me many stories about how hard she had to work to pay the mortgage. This has inspired me to work for what I want and that nothing is impossible. She wasn’t ashamed to save every penny she could on everything if that meant getting what she wanted. This has inspired me to do well in school. It has taught me that every point counts; that one point could make the difference between failing and passing, an 89 or a 90, or being number one rather than number two. It has taught me that one more community service hour on your resume could make the biggest difference. I am in the Scholar Service Institute at St. Mary’s, and I remember the day I told her. She was so happy and said that extra time I spent studying while everyone else was out had added up. This makes me proud because my nonna has set many examples for me and has taught me how to behave. This was my way of showing her that her hard work has paid off.

My nonna has inspired me to be myself. She has taught me to be proud of whom I am. I am very proud to be a strict Catholic and I don’t let ridicule about being in church so much bother me. I am also a very proud Italian. My nonna has inspired me to do well in school and always work as hard as I can. Getting good grades and becoming a member of the Scholar Service Institute have been great achievements to me that I dedicate to my nonna because I feel she is responsible for it.

LISA GRECO is a senior at St. Mary’s High School, Manhasset.