faithhopeandlovejesus.org BLOG

Everyone has a story to tell; some you can tell by looking at a person, but for others you have to get to know that person.  From the outside, you see I’m short and hearing impaired however, this is not my story.  My story is what I’ve learned and the journey I have been on while overcoming the everyday challenges I face.

 
My story starts when I was two years old, I was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma, a solid tumor cancer that originates in the adrenal gland.  As a result of multiple rounds of chemo, radiation, and two stem cell transplants, I lost some of my hearing and my growth was stunted but I defeated the cancer.  Eight years later, my brother passed away from leukemia, I was ten years old and had just lost my brother.  I remember sitting there thinking everything would change; nothing would ever be the same.  What I didn’t realize in that moment was one thing would remain the same, my determination to succeed in life.

Losing  some of my hearing made learning in school and socializing in large groups much harder for me.  I had a choice; I could use it as an excuse or I could accept the challenge and show the world what I was capable of doing.  I chose to accept the challenges.  Being hearing impaired means that in class I miss about 30% of what a teacher teaches in class.  It is my job to be an advocate for myself and learn the material I miss.  I’m not going to just sit there and not understand what’s going on.  I also wasn’t going to let this hearing barrier stop me from hanging out with friends or participating in activities I enjoy.  I still watch movies with my friends, the only difference is I turn on closed caption.  When I have big groups of friends come over to my house to hang out, I just tell them to get my attention and look at me when they are talking.  Even with my hearing loss i still participate in dance, concert and marching band and so many other things.  In these activities when I cannot hear certain parts of the music or certain instruments, I use visual cues or look for other indication.

My height challenges also made some things in life harder for me, especially as I’ve gotten older.  For example, pushing through the jolly green giants in the halls of my high school, in order to get to class on time, or finding a car I could drive.  Not to mention dealing with the confused looks I received when I get out of my car at the gas station because I look much younger than I actually am.  I also make adjustments for myself.  In marching band, I play the xylophone, however, when I first started playing it was too tall, I brought in a step stool in order for it to be the proper height.  I have a lot of step stools around my house in order to reach high shelves in my kitchen or reach the top of my closet.

Through my personal experiences I learned some very important lessons; adjustments can always be made and that one look from the outside of someone really shows you nothing.  I know now that people who do that are blind to so much of the world around them just like they are blind to the potential I have.  I have learned always be an advocate for myself and to not let obstacles stop you from doing what you love.  These experiences and challenges I have faced have helped define who I am today; a strong, determined and driven person.

-Tara Lackey

As I thought about what to write for the Faith Hope and Love Jesus, Inc. Scholarship, I thought about what I love or what I like to do.  My first thought was basketball and the reason why I love the sport of basketball.  I was seven years old, a typical second grader, waiting for summer to start.  I had plans to spend the night with friends, stay up as late as I wanted, and participate in some pageants.  Don’t let me fool you, I was a tomboy too and I begged my mom to get involved in sports.  I was looking forward to playing summer basketball that year.  Little did I know what God had in store for me in the upcoming days and even years.

January 24, 2003, our family heard the most devastating news.  “Your child has Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia,” the doctors explained at Children’s Hospital in Birmingham, Alabama.  As a family, we didn’t really know which way to turn next.  My mom, a great example, dropped her head and started praying, asking God to take over.  All we knew was to pray.  Having your blood work drawn every day, taking fourteen pills of medicine, and undergoing chemotherapy each week was not something I wanted to be doing.  Being seven years old, I just wanted to be out of the hospital and participate in extracurricular activities.  Was that a wish to hard to grant for an innocent seven year old?  What I would have given to be on the basketball court instead of the hospital beds was more than one could ever think.

The side effects of chemo began to hit me.  My appearance started to change drastically.  I lost a lot of weight and muscle mass, and my hair began to fall out.  Losing my hair was devastating at first, but it did not stop me.  It just meant I got to beg my mom for some really cute hats.  The doctors would say, “You can’t go outside, don’t get around a lot of people, and wear a mask everywhere you go.”  How in the world could I play basketball if these were the rules I had to follow?  This was not the routine I dreamed about getting used to, but it had to be now.  The hospital was just another home to me.  Although, I knew God had something in store for me, but I didn’t realize it until my first basketball practice of my freshman year.

My ninth grade year, I made the Lady Rams Basketball team.  I was so overjoyed.  After all I had been through; I finally got the chance to play.  From the very first day of practice I fell in love with this sport.  We had practice during school and after school, just running up and down the court, panting like dogs.  One may seem like that is pointless and may ask why would one person enjoy that so much?  Well, I loved it!  My determination I had to use to get through cancer was beginning to play a role on the basketball court.  I was the first one to practice and the last one to leave. When I wasn’t at practice, I was at home shooting free throws, running sprints in the yard, or doing dribbling drills down our driveway.

Being a true freshman, intimidation was a big factor for me.  I will never forget the first practice of high school season when the coach began to walk towards me.  I had no clue what the coach was about to say or ask me, but I was anxious.  “Ashton, you have a natural talent for this sport.  Why do you like basketball so much?” coach asked curiously.   This is when I stopped and realized why God allowed me to overcome some obstacles in my life.  As my coach listened attentively, I began to tell my journey as a seven year old.  I continued to explain that I finally have this opportunity to play and I am going to give all the glory to God.  My hard work and dedication paid off and I was a four year starter for the Lady Rams Varsity Basketball Team.

After ten years in remission, I can see where the Lord has brought me from and why He has allowed me to see another day.  With this scholarship, it would allow me to purse a Master’s degree in Nursing.  Now that I’m at this chapter in my life, I want to challenge myself and return the favor to those who are in my position as I once was.  In pursuit of becoming a nurse practitioner, my faith, hope and love for God continues to increase each and every day.  I look for the Lord to guide me down His path and continue to share my testimony of my experience.

-ASHTON WELBORN

The smells of perspiration and struggle are in the atmosphere.  The sound of metal hitting metal fills the air, but if you listen closely enough, you can hear the exhaling breath of those pushing themselves to their limits.  You can almost state the hard work and determination.  As you scan the room, you notice that the people are as diverse as the animals that gather at the watering hole; all meeting at the same place, but each different with their own goal in mind.  As you stick your earbuds in and the rhythmic beats start to play, your heart begins to race with the anticipation of what’s ahead of you.  Will you be able to make it to the end, and push your body to work harder than it ever has before?  Will you be able to focus on how your body feels and put aside any thoughts of giving up?  When you walk into the gym, the possibilities of challenges you may face are endless.

To most people, the gym is a just a place to go to make yourself more physically fit; however, to me it isn’t just about becoming physically stronger, it’s also about strengthening your mind.  Going to the gym tests your ability to overcome that voice in your head that tells you that you can’t do it, or you’re not good enough.  This voice can be very powerful at times and can even start to trick your mind into believing everything it says.  For me, this voice was a hazard and had the potential of being destructive.  By telling me I wasn’t smart enough, I wasn’t pretty enough, I wasn’t strong enough, I wasn’t the best daughter or sister and I wasn’t the best friend of student I could be; this voice took control over how I thought and felt about myself.

When your mind is constantly running these thoughts through your head, you have no other choice but to start to believe them.  The voice wasn’t there all the time, but it was always lurking in the shadows, creeping up as if my mind was easy prey to catch.  For the longest time I allowed myself to listen to it and let it convince me that I wasn’t good enough.  Failing to understand a lesson in school, not getting the best grade on a test, not eating healthy, finding clothes that no longer fit, and getting injured during my sports season; my mind took advantage of all these event and used them to prove that I was a failure.  The gym gave me an opportunity to overcome this voice.

Lifting heavier weights, running more miles, making it through spin classes, trying new activities like yoga; these were all positive experiences that helped alter the distorted view I had of myself.  Going to the gym not only helped me feel physically better, but it also helped to transform the voice in my head from a deceptive one to an uplifting one.  Instead of thinking I couldn’t do anything right, I gained confidence in myself and began to believe that I could accomplish anything through hard work.  When life brings on challenges, I am no longer afraid of them. but take them as opportunities to grow as a person.  I don’t think I would have been able to make this transformation without the help of the gym.  Working out and pushing yourself to limits you never imagined reaching allow you to realize that the voice in your head doesn’t determine who you are or what you can become.  To me, the gym signifies overcoming obstacles – both physically and mentally.

-M. Becker

My experience with cancer has impacted my life by making me a stronger person.  I am stronger than I have ever remained.  I am currently now 19 years of age with a history of aplastic anemia.  My life has completely change since October 2008 at the age of 11.  I have experienced two bone marrow transplants to be cured.  As part of my two transplants, I received high doses of chemotherapy, multiple blood transfusions, and treatments with circulatory antibiotics for life-threatening infections.  It was hard being a cancer survivor, but I made it, and I’m still standing.  A cancer diagnosis is hard to take and having cancer is not easy.  My pain that I have been through fighting cancer is now my strength.  Having leukemia cancer can be very stressful.  There were so many days that my body was extremely weak from receiving those painful doses of treatments.

Throughout the whole process I never gave up.  I would always pray for better days to come because it knew it was just a matter of time before everything to fall in place.  After a while, I looked in the mirror and realized after all those hurts, scars, and trials.  I really made it through.  I did survive after all I have been through.  No matter what I look back, smile and keep moving forward with my life.

I’m a very strong, young, intelligent woman, because God gives His hardest battles to His strongest soldiers.  I consider myself as a soldier, because I have fought a battle with cancer and overcame numerous obstacles.  I’m thankful for my victory, because it was a long journey during the whole procedure.  I thank my mother for being here with me every step of the way.  I know that it was extremely hard for her to watch her oldest child out of four to go through a life-threatening procedure.  She was with me every step of the way.  During the course of my battle, I would pray and have faith in God.  Faith is seeing the light even when all my eyes saw was darkness.  I am making sacrifices by doing everything that I can possibly do from my best ability that I can.

After all, I was able to get healthy and graduate with my class.  I am honored to be a 2015 Karnack High School graduate in Karnack, Texas.  I’m honored to be a freshman at Southern University at Shreveport, Louisiana.  My major is Early Childhood Education.  I am going to be a teacher and educate children.

My plans after my college graduation is to help people that are going to experience the road that I have traveled.  I’m going to tell them that their life is not over, because of cancer.  They should stay focused at all times, because there is always a light at the end of every dark tunnel.  I’m going to mentor people by doing community service. donating my time, help and tell them my story about fighting cancer.

-Latreva Hill

The place that makes me feel perfectly content is Penn State University.  This is a very important place in my life and has impacted my life in a positive way.  Penn State is and always will be my second home.

During my early childhood, my family learned of my diagnosis with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.  The doctors and nurses at Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital gave me the best possible care and more importantly saved my life.  While going through treatment, my family and I were told about The Penn State Dance Marathon, more commonly known as THON.  In February of 2002, we traveled to Penn State and attended our first THON.  With me being only 4 years old, there was so much to take in.  Every February since then, my family travels to Penn State for THON.  The main thing experienced by me and my family at Penn State is THON, however we also enjoy going to PSU football games, tailgating, hanging, out with our adoptive organization and shopping downtown.

The atmosphere at Penn State is always so energetic and positive.  Whenever we go there, it feels like home.  By having cancer, the only positive thing about it is gaining so many big brothers and sisters that have become a part of my family.  It always makes my day when we get to go to PSU to see them and hangout with them at various THON events throughout the year.  This place is so meaningful to me because it is a place where I can be myself.  Every February, my family and I can have a winter vacation to our home away from home.

Penn State University has been my second home for many years.  By traveling there often, it has made my decision on choosing a college so much easier.  Penn State has become my top choice to attend for a college education because it feels like home to me, and holds a special place in my heart.

I am beyond excited to say that in November I found out that I have been accepted to Penn State Harrisburg for the fall of 2016.  It has been my dream ever since I was little to attend Penn State for college.  At Penn State Harrisburg, I plan on majoring in Human Development/Family Studies and minoring in business.  Being the Penn State girl that I am, it was the only college I applied to, and I could not see myself going anywhere but Penn State.  After two years at Penn State Harrisburg, I will be transferring to University park to complete my final two years of college and I could not be more excited to go to college at my favorite place in the whole world!  I am also excited to attend Penn State football games, hockey games and THON.  I am looking forward to being involved in THON as a Penn State student and experience things from a different aspect.  I absolutely cannot wait to spend the next 4 years at the greatest place in the world!

-Ashley Otstott

When I was five years old, I was diagnosed with cancer.  The doctor told my parents that I had Grade 1 Pilocytic Astrocytoma in my brain stem.  I went in for emergency surgery to have the tumor removed, but not all of it has been removed.  The surgery left me paralyzed from the neck down.  I stayed in the hospital for a couple months with multiple therapy sessions to re-learn everything from walking to eating to talking.  Through various techniques such as therapeutic horseback riding, I was able to regain back most of my strength but with some lack in my left arm and leg.

As a five year old, I didn’t quite understand what was going on, but when I started elementary school, I began to see that I wasn’t really like anyone else.  I had found that a lot of kids labeled gym as their favorite class, and that was never the case for me.   That was the one thing I always had difficulty with.  Simple things like jump rope and running always came as a challenge.  Teachers always gave me extra help and put me into special classes.  I had been teased by the other kids because I limped when I walked.  This lowered my self-esteem and made me feel different from the other kids when all I wanted to be was normal.

I have never been one to give up easily.  Fighting has always come naturally for me, so one day, I just decided that I was going to fight through all the difficulties I was having.  I found new ways to cope and adjust to daily life.  Soon enough, I tested out of the special classes, and I didn’t need much extra help.  I had become independent and able to do many things on my own.  Independence brought confidence with it, and soon after, I was in the top of my 4th grade class and even made it into the challenge math and reading classes.  Since then, I have always been a diligent worker in school and have received good grades.

When I was a sophomore in high school, I chose to take a gym class as an elective.  I took Outdoor Adventures, a class that involved rock climbing and ropes courses.  Going into the class, I knew that I wouldn’t be able to do everything, but that couldn’t stop me from trying.  There was one day in particular when we were climbing the outdoor rock wall.  I made it halfway up the wall, something that I never thought I could do.  That was one of the biggest accomplishments I have ever made.  I felt like I had just made it to the top of Mount Everest.

In my junior year, I took two AP classes thinking that while the workload would be larger than what I was used to, I could handle the pressure.  I was correct when I thought that the workload would be larger than what I was used to, but I was also correct when I thought that I could handle the pressure.  Those two courses ended up being some of my favorites because of the challenge they provided.

Even now, while the tumor is no longer malignant, I still need some help when doing certain tasks that involve the use of my left side, but for the most part, I get along just fine.  With the right mindset, a person really can do anything they set their mind to.

-Elise Christiansen

Cancer.  It’s the one word no one in the world wants to hear.  Do you want to know what’s even worse?  Hearing it 4 months after you run 15 years old, during your freshman year of high school.  So many things start to run through your mind once the doctor has officially said it.  Things like, am I going to receive chemotherapy or radiation? I’ve never heard anything good about cancer so this must mean something really bad is about to happen to me, right?  Hair though.  What about my hair?  I don’t want to be bald.  I don’t know any girl in high school that wants to be bald.  At this point, you don’t know what to think.  You halfway listen to the doctor talk to your mom while you also ask yourself 100 questions about what you are going to tell people, whom you are going to tell, and how they will handle it.  By this time, you don’t know up from down or even left from right.  Everything you thought you ever knew just becomes a sudden blur.

That’s how my story started.  I was 15 years old and almost finished with my freshman year of high school.  As you grow up, you always hear that high school will be the best 4 years of your life.  I, however, was one of those students who thought differently.  On May 2, 2011, I went to see a neurosurgeon to find out if surgery was possible for my brain tumor due to its location (optic pathway glioma – aka, my eye nerves, just behind the chiasm).  Turns out surgery would never be an option.  The surgeon referred me to an oncologist.  Oh joy, a cancer doctor.

I met with my doctor, Dr. Claire Mazewski, on May 26, 2011.  The minute she walked in the room I knew I would be okay.  She had this warm glow about her and you could tell she was a caring doctor who would do whatever it took to make someone better and that is exactly what she did.  She sat down with my mom, grandfather, and me and told us everything we wanted to know.  We discussed how we found my tumor, that I had already seen a surgeon, and that I would go through 12-16 months of chemotherapy.  Was she serious about me having an entire year of chemotherapy?  This woman must have been crazy!

A child life specialist, Molly, came into the room and showed me what would happen when I came every week for treatments.  She had this cute little doll with a port in its chest.  Molly showed me what the port was, how it worked, how it looked under the skin, and what it felt like.  She covered everything I needed to know about it.  After being educated about childhood cancer by these wonderful ladies for 4 hours, we scheduled my surgery to insert the port on June 10, 2011.  I received my first chemotherapy treatment a week later, and the following week I attended Camp Sunshine (a camp for children with cancer), and was administered my second treatment.

From then on, life had a lot of ups and downs.  Some weeks were really good, while others were really bad.  I went from being sick, to be happy, to being upset, and back to being sick.  It felt like a never-ending cycle.  I met a lot of amazing friends along the way, and also lost a few.   Cancer changes your life in so many ways.  Sadly, some people never get to see what opportunities are available to them when they are finally given the title of a survivor.  Some people survive, like me, get to continue on with life carrying the badge of cancer with them, and I am so thankful to be one of those people.

Before I was diagnosed, I knew I wanted to go to school to become a pediatric oncologist.  Once I was diagnosed and finished treatment, I knew it had to be fate.  I was pulled down this path and I’m not going to abandon it now.  I plan to attend Georgia Regents University starting in the fall of 2014.  I want to major in biology with a minor in psychology, then attend graduate school to become a physician’s assistant.  I want to brighten someone’s life and be an inspiration to others, like my doctor was for me.  I want to research to find cures and help other children so they don’t have to go through this.  Children don’t receive much funding.  So if I can’t financially fund it, I want to be there to emotionally and medically support it.

On May 23, 2014, I will graduate high school.  I don’t have the best memories of my high school career because my social life was on hold depending on how sick I was when the weekend came.  But looking back, that never mattered.  I made it, and now I am a cancer survivor.  I will soon graduate high school and go on to college, and hopefully improve a few lives along the way.

From a very young age, I learned to never give up and I have been able to carry that through with everything that has come my way.  When I was three, I was lying awake on the couch when I felt a pounding pain in my head like a bowling ball hit me.  After a few minutes, my mom called the pediatricians office and spoke with the nurse who told us to come in.  My pediatrician ran some tests and the results prompted him to suggest that I may have leukemia.  I was sent by ambulance to the Connecticut Children’s Medical Center in Hartford where we got confirmation of the leukemia diagnosis.  After I heard the news, I did not know how to react.  From that moment, life became endless treatments and doctor’s appointments with little time to be a kid.

For the next two and a half years, life was chaotic.  My doctor wanted to aggressively treat the disease with chemotherapy and steroids.  However, because the treatment killed the good blood cells with the bad I had to receive blood and platelet transfusions.  During this time, I also had spinal taps and bone marrow biopsies to make sure the cancer had not spread.  Her plan was aggressive, but my mom trusted her to do what was best for me.  As my hair fell out and my stomach rejected almost everything I ate, my mom remained strong.  Reflecting back on this time, I realized how much my mom had to cope with.  She not only had to care for me, but my younger sister was a baby at the time of my diagnosis.

Because of the chemotherapy treatments I received, I developed a learning disorder.  I have struggled with this since elementary school.  But through the years and with my mother’s support and encouragement, I have learned to advocate for myself in school to get the best possible education that I deserve. Being the oldest in my family, my mom encouraged me to be an example for my sisters.  It has taken great responsibility, strength, and perseverance.  But, I believe if my mom had not been such a good role model for me, I would not be able to do the same for my sisters.

Since my freshman year in high school, I have been a part of the Prostart Program.  The Prostart Program is for individuals who have an interest in the culinary/baking field.  During my junior year, my team consisting of five students participated in the Prostart Invitational Culinary competition and came in third place.  This year my team decided to participate again in the Prostate competition and came in first place.  That was the defining moment that solidified my desire to go to college and pursue a degree in baking/pastry arts.  We are currently getting ready to compete in the National Prostart Invitational Culinary competition in Baltimore, Maryland.  It’s an exciting time for my teammates and family as we prepare to go to Baltimore.  Even if we don’t win I feel like we have won just by participating in one of the biggest events in our high school career.

This fall I will be a student at Johnson and Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island, majoring in Bakery and Pastry Arts.  I am looking forward to this next chapter in my book of life.  I cannot wait to use the knowledge and experience I have gained at Johnson and Wales to one day run and own a business selling pastries and baked goods that I have created.

I survived my leukemia diagnosis.  I continue to rise above my learning disability, and I am now college bound.  In the eighteen years that I have been on this earth, I have discovered the strength and determination within me to build a solid foundation on which to build my dreams.

-Moriah Shafer

While most toddlers spend their days having play dates and running around at the park, I battled cancer.  At two and a half years of age, I was diagnosed with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia and underwent chemotherapy treatments for two years.  By age five, I had won the fight and entered remission.  I am grateful that I have no real recollection of these troublesome times, and what I do vaguely remember is mostly through pictures and stories that my parents tell me.  However, I have never forgotten or taken for granted the fact that I have been given a second chance at life.

This idea of a second chance has molded my life significantly.  I decided early on in my teenage years that I would never consume alcohol, smoke, use drugs, or have premarital sex.  After what my body had already gone through, I felt it was only right to treat it with the utmost respect.  While many of my peers in high school deemed my morals radical, I knew that the risk of seeming “uncool” was absolutely no comparison to the damage that I could potentially do to my body.  This was further strengthened for me when I attended a long term cancer survivor’s seminar, in which I met four people who had become addicted to alcohol and smoking after entering remission.  I realized that the choices I had made were ones that may not stop side effects or cancer from recurring, would help me to stay healthy and focused on achieving a happy and successful life.

In order to achieve a truly happy and successful life, I needed to love my career choice.  Starting college, my plans for the future seemed foggy.  I knew that I wanted to help people and to make a difference in the world, but that was as far as I got.  It wasn’t until the end of my first semester in my Career Explorations class that I received the answer I had been searching for.

While researching positions in the social work field, I came across medical social work.  This spiked my interest and I continued looking in the field.  When I found the career title “Pediatric Oncology Social Work”, I was beyond ecstatic and began to research more.  I had always wanted to give back to those that did so much for my family and tried doing so through volunteer work, but I never imagined I could do so professionally in this manner.  As i learned more, I realized that this was the perfect fit for me.   I also understood that the career would be a stressful and emotionally tolling one, but I knew it would be even more rewarding.  When I went in for my yearly check up at the Children’s Hospital of Orange County, I was able to speak to my pediatric oncology social worker about her career and it solidified my desire to pursue that field.

As I continue my studies, I have a clear goal in mind and one that I am so excited for.  Now when I think of the trouble I faced as a child, I do not focus on myself, but instead envision the countless families facing this issue worldwide.  I cannot wait until I can help families going through the same trials that mine did.  I feel that with my experience, I will show them that their children can live normal lives and I hope that I will be able to provide a light at the end of the tunnel.  My childhood battle with leukemia will no longer be a trouble in my life, but a grand opportunity to serve my society.

When the doctors first come to the door of your hospital room and call your parents into the hallway, even when you’re young, you know that they’re not bringing good news.  The look on your parent’s faces and the sight of your mother’s tears flowing on your father’s shoulder is evidence enough that you’re really sick.  The diagnosis that you have a cancerous brain tumor the size of a golf ball is overwhelming and you know from that moment forward this will surely be a defining moment.

Doctors at Johns Hopkins chose to surgically remove my malignancy.  Surgeons were confident they removed all the cancer.  To reduce the probability of further brain damage, they chose not to follow with radiation or chemo.  MRIs were to follow for the next several years until they said I was in remission.

Some people might end the story right there.  You think that’s a happy ending, right?  Surgeons and the oncologists are looking for the best outcome to extend life.  What they don’t tell you is a term called sequelae.  The definition of sequelae is an abnormal condition resulting from a previous disease.  My story continues with what oncologists say is mild sequelae.

Since the tumor location was in an area that controlled emotion and confidence, I have struggled with crippling anxiety.  Anxiety hits everyone at some point in their life, and they will typically push through it.  This, however, has not been the case for me for several years now.  Sweating, dreading, feelings of sickness, stressing, and irrational anger are all recurring symptoms of my day to day life.  My anxiety prevents my great potential of establishing a serious relationship.  Even situations as simple as going to the grocery store, alone, to buy groceries for my parents has caused me to stress to the point of fear.  While I believe it has been the biggest mistake I’ve made letting my anxiety take control of me, it has shaped and is continuously shaping me into a stronger person than i could have ever imagined.  it has also given me an experience that, through anguish and hardships, changed my life for the better.  Without my experience, I never would have realized who I am today, or how much i can overcome.  Without it, I wouldn’t be strong.  With a growing calmness and confidence, I keep looking upward.   the way I see it, the sky is the limit.

Now it’s time for the next big step.  It’s a little scary and yet exciting.  I am really looking for college to be a place of personal growth.  I am looking for a clean slate and the possibility of starting anew; a new life, new friends, and new ways of thinking.  I am hoping this is where I can expand my academic and my social horizons.  I want things to be bigger and better.  I want college to make me even stronger physically and emotionally.  I want to know that i can survive on my own and realize I can talk to girls without feeling like I need to throw up.  I found, through my life experiences, it is about always looking forward and upward.  The past is the past.  I know this path will be the path to shape my future.

I am looking forward to studying computer science at the University of Maryland.  I am hoping to get my degree and develop computer and phone applications to help children and families that have struggled with cancer and mental illness.  With the strength of God, I will succeed.  The way I see it, He gave me the opportunity to continue with life and now it’s my chance to give back.

-Alex Dattilio